Guiding Light
by C D Henry
Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that would change the course of fate. Full summery inside, Minato/Mitsuru eventually.
1. Prologue & Chapter One

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects, that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: This one came about by the question of what would have happened in Ryoji had been around since the start of P3 and if Pharos was something else. Why am I writing this? Simple there aren't any long story ideas which follow a Minato/Mitsuru romance atm (Fate Rewritten was still undecided I think at this time). Normally that wouldn't be enough but the ideas and the general plot wouldn't leave me alone. As such I'll ask you to stick with me, as to be honest I haven't written for the net for years and as such I'm without a beta. Also updates will be slow as I'm fixing this around work. But most of all I hope you enjoy and leave me some feedback (constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't).

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. Wording of the contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (feedback can be wonderful).

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**Prologue:**

_31st of January 1999 – 23:54_

"Evening," greeted Arisato Rieka as she climbed into the vehicle. "Thanks for picking me up. How's Minato-chan? He's not been too much of a nuisance has he?"

"Not at all. He's been asleep for most of the drive," her husband replied as he pulled the car away from the sideway and started to head back towards mainland Iwatodai. "What did you find out?"

"It's not good," she admitted as she changed her view from her six year old angel to her hands. "I met up with Takeba-Sempai and he was right to ask me to look into this. Whatever Kirijo Kouetsu is planning with those things has nothing to do with time manipulation."

"Any ideas on what this is really about?" Arisato Itsuto queried as he turned the car towards the Moonlight Bridge.

"To be honest? No. These creatures seem to be based around negative human emotions and they prey on our minds, leaving only a soulless husk in their prey's place. We shouldn't be studying them, we should be figuring out ways of destroying them."

There was an uneasy silence for a few moments as the situation sunk in. "I asked around to see what I could find out about the Kirijo Group's interests in the area and I pretty much walked into a brick wall. Kirijo Kouetsu practically paid for the whole redevelopment of Port Island, the school, the mall, the monorail station and most of the residential housing. It's been funded by Kirijo investment groups, built by Kirijo building firms and most of the large companies are Kirijo business enterprises. With that much investment into an area it's no wonder that the local authorities are willing of overlook a laboratory being built within a school."

"We may be getting in over our heads," Rieka admitted as she stared out of the side window.

"That may be true but we still have options," Itsuto stated. "Even though using them will come at a price."

"Mochizuki-san?"

"Hai. Although I'm reluctant to even consider it."

"Itsuto…" It took a few seconds of Rieka to even gather the resolve to make the next comment. "Things have gotten better. It least he's trying to make things right now."

"No… He made his… Oto-sama made his decision when he refused to accept you as the woman I was going to marry," he replied. "He said things I'd rather not repeat, and if he thinks that all he has to do is turn on the charm and Mochizuki Enterprises gets the heir it needs desperately he has another thing com..."

The clock struck midnight.

The Six-year-old in the back of the car woke up to see that two coffins had replaced his parents in the front seats. This barely registered moments before the car hit the central barrier with an almighty crash, leading to the vehicle being tipped onto its side while it slid further down the road.

Arisato Minato would never be able to sleep on a moving vehicle ever again.

--

_31st of January 1999 – DH:09_

She was out of options.

Her only mission was to destroy Shadows.

That included the being in front of her, Death the thirteenth Arcana Shadow, the one that was not meant to exist. Her target was weakened; its body incomplete as its power has separated into 12 other beings. Even so this foe was beyond her capacity to deal with. This admission was already a blow, she was the last Anti-Shadow weapon; a machine designed purely to destroy Shadows. If she could not accomplish this task then what was the reason for her creation? She needed to neutralise her foe somehow, otherwise the results would be catastrophic

There was another way.

The Boy.

She had noticed his unaltered presence just before combat had begun but had not really placed too much attention towards him. However he had offered a solution to her problem which could at best; stop the Shadow's agenda or at worst: delay the Shadow for a short time until a solution could be devised and initiated. The option was available, the results far more favourable to other outcomes, the path was clear.

_INITIATING SEALING PROCEDURES_

Death must have realised her intent as it started to move from its current location, whether to stop her or to evade she did not know. Fortunately it was too late as she was already moving at full capacity and slammed into the Shadow before it could react. Even though it struggled in her grip she already had enough momentum to get her target where she needed it. With a glow and a scream that promised retribution it was done, Death was sealed.

Mission accomplished... For now.

She once again turned her attention to the boy who now served as a seal for Death, running a quick diagnostic on the unmoving child. He had fallen unconscious, not a surprise, after all the sealing process would have been traumatic and it would be a basic human defence to shut down the mind to avoid the feedback from the nervous system. There were minor scuffs and a small cut from the car accident he had been involved in.

He had been lucky. When the Dark Hour had begun his parents had transmogrified and the cars electronics had deactivated (a fate she would have shared if she had not been designed to work in these conditions) however this had not stopped the momentum of the vehicle, and as such, with its natural sight inclination to veer left, had crashed into the central barrier. The child, because of his potential, had been able to brace himself for the impact.

His parents had not.

In one way this was fortunate. Child welfare standard operating procedure was to move child to a new location away from the scene of their parent's death. She did not understand the reasoning; it was not something they had included within the basic guidelines that was stored within her memory banks. Their reasoning was irrelevant, what mattered was that this practice would get this child away from Iwatodai and the twelve pieces of death that had escaped.

It was with that thought that the guilt hit home. That in itself was surprising; she was a machine, a weapon, and guilt would only impair her ability to operate at maximum capacity. However she did feel guilt for her actions to this small individual in front of her. She had sealed death within him, had made it so he could never truly live a normal life anymore. Would death corrupt him or would it slowly destroy his soul in order to escape? This was something she would have to monitor so she would be able to react accordingly.

_WARNING: SYSTEM DAMAGE – OPERATION TIME SEVERELY LIMITED_

The sealing had caused more damage than anticipated; she had only a small amount of time left.

_HIGHEST PRIORITY: YOUNG HUMAN MALE, APPROXIMATELY SIX YEARS OLD IN THE YEAR ONE-THOUSAND, NINE HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINE. COBALT HAIR, GREY EYES, LEAN BUILD (SUBJECT TO CHANGE FROM AGEING). STAY BY HIS SIDE, PROTECT AND MONITOR FOR..._

_SYSTEM CRITICAL: EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN INITIATED_

Little did the Anti-Shadow weapon Aigis know that this unfinished command would one day allow her to ascend past her original parameters as a weapon of destruction.

It would allow her to live.

**End of Prologue**

--

**Chapter 1:**

_Monday, 6th of April 2009 – 23:48_

Although he didn't show it, Arisato Minato was nervous.

The Japanese public transport system was far better than those of other countries but even still there was always the chance that there could be delays.

Like the one he faced now.

It wasn't the chance of being late that worried him, after all he was only heading towards the dorm that his new school had assigned him to. As far as he knew no one was supposed to greet him on arrival, the directions were well detailed and he had his key already. What worried him was the fact that the train wouldn't reach the station by 12:00pm.

And if that happened he'd have to spend the Dark Hour within this small carriage.

That wasn't something that he'd look forward to. Although the hour itself seemed harmless there was always a sense of uneasiness that followed him into the hour where the moon turned yellow and water turned red. Most of the time he'd either sleep through it like nothing was happening or he'd pull out a book, and read the hour away with his latest interest. Even so, something always set him on edge, that there was some sort of hidden danger that he hadn't discovered yet but was waiting for the right moment to strike.

_23:59_

Granted Ryoji the idiot relished this time, after all it allowed the prankster to setup some of his most famous pranks without getting caught. A few times before he had once again moved to a different school, they had snuck out of their school dorms during the dark hour. Usually it was an attempt to keep the silver haired boy from causing trouble in the dorm, due to a feeling of sheer boredom, and typically it failed in this aspect as he'd just cause mayhem somewhere else, but at least it would allow him to sneak some reading material out of the library for his use during the hours he couldn't find sleep.

A few times during these strolls they ran into one of the few others that could function during the Dark Hour and to honest it was worrying. He could function normally during the Dark Hour, granted it was tiring and he always had a sense of foreboding and it seemed that Ryoji wasn't affected in the slightest. It was the state of the others which worried him; some were disorientated, some suffered memory loss, others became emotionally distressed and the rest had gone completely insane. He had always wondered why they were unaffected compared to others; he suspected that Ryoji was immune because of his circumstances. As for himself? Well maybe it had to do with the car crash 10 years ago, the event had traumatised him so much that he couldn't even remember what happened. Maybe that's why the Dark Hour didn't affect him, the trauma was nothing compared to what he had felt in the event that killed his parents.

Ryoji had another explanation.

"_We're more attuned,"_ he remembered the idiot telling him during one of his rare serious moments. _"There is something behind it, something terrible that I can't remember. We're like this because we'll be involved in how this will end."_

"Attention passengers. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by the delay. The next stop is Iwatodai."

A chill ran though him. He couldn't describe it, or put a finger on the emotion. All he knew was that something had clicked into place somehow,

Well whatever the reason it was a matter for future contemplation, now the most important thing was to get off the train before...

"Iwatodai," droned on the bored voice of the station announcer. "Iwatodai. This is the last train bound for Port Island. Please make sure you board in time for departure."

Feet hit solid concrete, at least now he wouldn't have to spend an hour trapped within a monorail carriage and just in time too it was about to hit...

"Iwatodai, Iwatodai."

"Huh?" He muttered as the world started to shift.

_00:00_

The Dark Hour had begun.

Arisato Minato sighed.

His mp3 player instantly went silent; losing its power source during the hidden hour, not a surprise really as it was a nuisance he had already contended with for years. He quickly considered removing his headphones before deciding it would be a wasted effort, after all if he still hadn't found the dorm by the time this was over he'd just put them back in again. Elevators, lifts, the arrival-departure board, lamps, all were no longer active, leaving a strange sense of quietness to the usually busy station. This added to the coffins which now replaced the people, the glowing yellow moon and the eerie green tint set this as the typical ordeal that he would have to put up with from time to time.

He sighed as he pulled out the directions he had been sent in his welcome package. The dorm wasn't too far away; he'd guess maybe a 20-30 minute walk under normal circumstances. It's a shame that this would be the first time he would be attempting this journey and it would be during the Dark Hour, which had an odd side effect of tiring you faster than the same activity would do in normal time. If he was lucky he'd make it to the dorm just as the Dark Hour ended, after all if someone was in the entryway it would be hard to explain if he suddenly popped into existence in the doorway.

He pulled out a small digital clock from the inside pocket of his school blazer. Unlike all the other electrical devices, this small clock still worked and could even keep time during the Dark Hour. It had been a present he'd received from Ryoji for his birthday a couple of years back, stating that the ability to check to see how much time remained could be useful.

42 minutes, plenty of time.

--

Oddly enough, even though he had only travelled at a fairly sedate pace, it only took Minato 38 minutes to reach the dorm.

The building seemed well maintained, on a moderately decent street and close to major transportation links that could get you around the city. So far so good. Some of the other dorms he'd stayed in from one time to another hadn't been anywhere near this good. Taking a chance he slowly opened the door and stepped into what seemed to be the communal lounge. As he removed his headphones finally he gave the room a quick browse. Once again everything seemed clean, well looked after and somewhat expensive for a standard school dorm; in fact looking over at the desk area to the left it could have been a hotel at some point.

"You're late." He turned back towards the desk, finally noticing that he wasn't alone. "I've been waiting a long time."

The child couldn't be any older than six, maybe seven at a stretch, although the white hair didn't really give any indication of age and the silver eyes showed a maturity that couldn't be possible. Add to the fact that the child looked positively bored to death, as if he had been waiting for a long time. That wasn't too worrying to be honest.

Not compared to feeling as if you're looking in a mirror.

Minato watched as the boy snapped his fingers, vanishing from his position behind the desk only to reappear right in front of him. This allowed the teenager to properly see the white shirt, trousers and jacket the child wore. "Now if you want to proceed, please sign your name there." A slight smile came onto the face of the child at Minato's wary gaze towards the red file which seemed to contain a contract and the feather quill pen that lay on the desk top. "It's a contract. Don't worry; all it says is that you will accept full responsibility for your actions. You know the usual stuff."

_I chooseth mine fate of mine own free will._

Right

He was barely able to hold the sigh that desperately tried to get out as he picked up the offered pen and signed the document, lightly blowing on the ink to avoid smudging before passing it to the boy for inspection.

"No one can avoid time. It delivers us all to the same end," The child stated as he closed the contract and moved into the Shadows. "You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes."

"And so it begins." The cobalt haired teenager slightly raised one eyebrow as the child slowly faded into the Shadows. "By the way, don't worry; it's not a real gun."

With that the child was gone.

There was barely enough time to contemplate the vanishing act before a new voice entered the scene. "Who's there?!"

Silver eyes turned from the Shadows where the child in white had vanished to the girl who had just entered the scene. He had to admit she was moderately attractive with her shoulder length brown hair and striking amber eyes, though the scowl did ruin the effect somewhat. She was also gifted by having a good athletic build and was only a few inches shorter than him. If he was to make a rough guess that they were the same age. Of course he'd never make a guess out loud, since it was always best to leave things like that and the following slap to idiots like Ryoji.

His guess was supported by the high school uniform she wore, although the pink cardigan couldn't be standard issue, he'd have to ask what the red armband was meant to signify, the skirt had to be on the borders of what was considered decent, oh and the thigh holster carrying a silver handgun probably wouldn't be a usual sight around the school grounds either.

"_Don't worry; it's not a real gun."_

Although the parting words of the child calmed his nerves somewhat, the fact that she looked like she was about to draw on him... Oh hell's teeth she _was_ drawing on him.

"Takeba wait!" Both eyes turned towards the authoritative voice, their attention drawn to the stunning woman who had just come down the staircase.

And she was stunning. Crimson hair ran down to mid back and partially obscured her left eye. Something he did himself in fact. After all, the eyes were the windows to the soul, and he had found it easier to keep up his mask of indifference when you weren't being stared directly in both eyes. The crimson eye he could see however shone with intelligence and a sharp wit, obviously the sign of an academic. Sadly they also held a cold edge that matched her body language. This cold exterior had to serve as some sort of subconscious shield, holding others at arm's length in an effort to make sure no one got too close. She was also still wearing her school uniform, heck if you didn't count the high heel knee high boots it seemed to be within the guidelines, although she seemed to have forgone a blazer or jumper of any sort, which in this weather was brave. She also had the same red armband and wore a belt slung around her lower hip, which featured a similar silver handgun to the one Takeba was about to draw.

Although analysing the latest human to enter his life was a welcome distraction, these teenagers were waiting for something.

Music started to come from his headphones, the lights came back on. A genuine smile appeared on the redhead's face as the brunette breathed a sigh in relief.

The Dark Hour was over once again.

However the blue haired teen was even more worried; these two young women knew about the Dark Hour and could function within it without problems, add to that the fact they were armed with gun shaped objects didn't bode well.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late," the redhead finally greeted. "My name is Kirijo Mitsuru. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

"Who's he?" The brunette asked as she nodded her head in his direction.

"He's a transfer student." Mitsuru explained. "It was a last minute decision to assign him here. He'll eventually be moved to a room in the boys' dorm."

There was a quick pause ask the brunette once again regarded the newcomer before asking, "Is it okay for him to be here?"

Charming.

"I guess we'll see..." the crimson-eyed teen replied before she waved her hand to introduce the other female dorm mate. "This is Takeba Yukari. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you."

"Hey..." Amber eyes still eyed Minato with a mix of apprehension and embarrassment.

"Arisato Minato," Minato replied in greeting. "Care to tell me why you have a gun?"

"Huh? Um, well, it's sorta like a hobby..." Silver eyes shone with mirth as the brunette turned away to break eye contact. Obviously she was having trouble lying while looking him in the eyes. "Well, not a hobby, but..."

"You know how it is these days..." Fortunately the junior was saved by the other female in the room. "It's for self-defence. It's not a real gun of course."

Right. Fake guns issued for self-defence, in a well-maintained dorm, which was in a decent area, that hadn't been vandalised. You had to give the girl credit where it was due: She could lie flawlessly without an iota of guilt in her features, and her shields of her cold exterior helped. He quickly took a look at the armband once again, noticing the black lettering that wrote out S.E.E.S. He'd have a check, once he'd settled into the school, at the list of clubs and try and find out which teacher was the adviser. It would be best to avoid the nut job who allowed his or her students to carry fake guns around for self-defence.

After a few more moments of eye-lock where both participants tried to pick up any further info from body language, the redhead turned towards the clock. "It's getting late, so you should try

and get some rest. Your room is on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there."

"Oh... I'll show you the way. Follow me."

He gave a quick nod to Mitsuru, bidding farewell before he followed the other girl up the staircase to the second floor. The conversation didn't really pickup until they arrived at the room he'd been assigned to. Mostly due to the fact that one was worried about slipping up again and the other was weary of the fact that his dorm mates could operate in the Dark Hour and carried fake guns.

"This is it... Pretty easy to remember, huh? Since it's right at the end of the hall." Yukari stated as she stood next to the last door on the right. "Oh yeah, make sure you don't lose your key, or you'll never hear the end of it... So, any questions?"

"What's that contract for?" the blue-haired teen asked as he slipped his key out of his blazer pocket. "Have a few students trashed their rooms in the past?"

"Contract?" It was quite clear that she had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

_I chooseth mine fate of mine own free will._

Ok that left another problem he'd have to deal with at some point. Who was the child with white hair and familiar grey eyes, and what the hell was that contract he signed for? "Don't worry about it."

"Right... Can I ask you something?" She paused for a brief second before finishing her request. "On your way from the station was everything okay?"

"There was nothing out of the ordinary." Technically that wasn't a lie. He'd spend about 8 years of his life knowing of the Dark Hour, probably lived in it without knowing for longer. As such it was an ordinary experience for him.

"I see, never mind. It sounds like you're alright." He finally saw a genuine smile from the girl who had nearly drawn her weapon at him. "Well I better get going. I know you still have other questions, but let's save them for later, okay?" He nodded in agreement as she turned back towards the stairway. "Good night."

"Night." He turned back to the door, using the key from the welcome pack to let himself in.

The room wasn't bad, a tad on the small side maybe but he'd probably get an upgrade as a senior. He had to admit to being a bit surprised to find most of his electrical appliances already unpacked and set up ready for use, not a service usually offered by the education system. Granted Gekkoukan High was quite prestigious and the fees were quite expensive but his parents had already placed aside enough to cover his education within a trust fund he'd have full access to when he hit eighteen.

All in all though the room wasn't too bad. There was a sink, his small fridge that the movers had setup next to it, a desk situated against the window, the bed opposite the door, the TV on top the TV stand that had been placed the corner by the foot of the bed, and finally the wardrobes which most of his hung clothing had already been unpacked and placed within. On the bright side it meant that he'd have little to unpack, but it also meant that someone he didn't know had gone through his stuff and put it away.

Well that was something he could think about after a good night's sleep. Fatigue didn't help in situations like these, it was best to get a good night's sleep and then try and tackle it on the morrow.

As he changed into some appropriate sleeping garments he couldn't help the wry smile that had broken through his mask. He'd been back in Iwatodai for less than two hours and already there was so much to think about.

'It's good to be back home.'

--

_Tuesday, 7th of April 2009 – 01:16_

Cobalt eyes locked onto the moon as young heir contemplated. It would be starting soon, if his memory was right, and they would have less than a year to solve the problem before the promised day. If not then they were pretty much screwed. He already had a plan, a way to stop the formation of death and in doing so stop the Appraiser from calling the lady of night to this world. All that remained was for the ball to start rolling.

Even though he didn't know, everything was waiting for Nii-san.

"Good evening. Ryoji-San"

The being that had once been the 13th Arcana: Death offered a polite smile as he dipped his head in greetings to the white-haired woman in a velvet uniform. "Evening Elizabeth-San. What do I owe the honour?"

The elevator assistant smile before stating her business. "Arisato Minato arrived back in Iwatodai tonight. He signed the contract offered by Pharos just before the Dark Hour ended."

It had begun. "Was the contact altered as planned?"

"Indeed. Our young collaborator modified the contract before my master signed to secure his end of the bargain, and once he realises what has happened it will be too late for him to back out."

"Good that keeps it so he will still get the help he needs from the old codger without the interference." The heir moved over to where the scythe hung on the wall. "Did you bring them?"

"You should feel privileged. It's not often I do requests for other people." The woman passed over twelve blank tarot cards to the unusually somber young man in front of her. Who gave them an inquisitive glance before placing them on his desk. "You do know that even you pull this off, this isn't guaranteed to work? If all twelve cards are in the same place the pull on the essence of death within him may be too strong for your young friend to handle."

"I have faith in my brothers; I'd gladly gamble that they have the strength and resolve required. It's better than just letting the Appraiser become whole again, I already know what would happen. After all, before he saved me, I would have been the one to carry out those actions."

"I see that you are resolved to carry this through," the lift attendant simply stated. "There are other worries as well. There are those who wish for the end of the world. There is also my master who will not lightly take being made a fool of. He will use any opportunity to enact vengeance on those he believes have wronged him."

"That would include you this time, Elizabeth-San."

"Of that I am well aware. But I do this for his sake." Elizabeth admitted as she turned to look at the moon. "He has to learn to stop interfering so much. Events like the one he has planned only creates malice, and if he carries on, others, with less noble intentions, will destroy him in order to stop his meddling in times where it is needed. If he can't then it is best that I do so. He is my master and, as such, that would be my final duty to him. If the destruction of fate's representative was necessary, a new one would arise when the time is right."

"I admire your resolve. Without you none of this would have been possible."

"Nonsense. This is all down to him. His ability to change the winds of fate has set events as they are." She paused for a second as she turned back to face the other occupant of the room. "I have to admit, I'm surprised that a mortal of that power level could exist. No wonder my master fears him."

"No kidding. He gifted me with mortality, and this mortal shell, so I could escape my fate as a destroyer of worlds. Not only that but he also uses a piece of his own soul in order to create a separate entity within him that could serve as a responsive seal against the essence of death that still resides within him."

"It just leaves questions of what else he could achieve. Alas I must leave." The lift attendant turned back towards the velvet door that had materialised with her appearance. "My master will awaken soon. I can only be glad that he has taken on habits from the form he has assumed."

"Stay safe," the heir bid farewell as he once again turned towards the descending moon.

"One last question," Elizabeth spoke as she put her hand on the door handle. "There are those who believe that they can release the essence within him by terminating his life. What will you do about this threat?"

"Those who try will learn that even though I am no longer a destroyer of man, Thanatos is still a bringer of death."

"Very well. God luck." And with that she was gone.

Mochizuki Ryoji barely paid heed to his accomplice's departure as he moved over to his desk and picked the cards he had put there.

There was much to do. He needed to secure an evoker from the supplies that were intercepted in transit between the Kirijo Group and that online revenge organisation, make sure he was in place before the next full moon, and that he was enrolled in Gekkoukan before the end of the month. There would be interference from the old fossils but he would not be swayed in his actions.

This was for Nii-san.

**End of Chapter One**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self checking for errors.

1.01 – Fixed Dark Hour error in Chapter one.

1.02 – Fixed times to 24 hour clock and not a mix-match of both styles.

1.03 – Changed the wording of the contract as suggested by Darkforce222. It's hard to admit but his simple elegant solution to the tampering of the original contract is far more elegant than mine.

1.04 – Moved version changes log to bottom of page.

1.05 – Competed version edited by Vocarin

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Well one down and no one has turned up with pitchforks to chase me out of the domain of fanfic writing, so far so good. I want everyone to know that for this I'm already counting Minato as having maxed out his Academics, Charm and Courage. Partly because of the change in the past, mostly because I really don't want to finish every single part with: "Minato headed to the Karaoke Bar and sung the night away before returning to the dorm and studying before he went to sleep." Also just a quick note of warning: I suspect that once again I'm going to have a timing fiasco, fortunately this time it shouldn't be conflicting styles of time telling, it'll be that the times I choose for the school events will most likely be off. Google has failed me for the last time. Ah well let's hope it's not too far out. As before feedback is welcome.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

_Tuesday, 7th of April 2009. 07:30_

He quickly spat the lid-full of mouthwash into the sink, checking his ribbon-like tie before moving over to the desk and pulling his mp3 player from the port on his laptop. As the knock sounded on the door, he plugged the player into the part already in place around his neck before moving to answer.

"It's Yukari," the voice of the brunette called through the closed entrance. "Are you awake?"

The temptation to call back 'No' was almost overwhelming.

Deciding against what could be considered as a fast tracked journey to a hospital bed, he opened the door to his room, moving to the side to allow his new dorm mate to enter.

"Good Morning! Did you sleep well?" Minato had to hold in a groan; it was far too early in the morning for someone to be _that_ cheerful. "Mitsuru-Sempai asked me to take you to school. It's getting late so... Are you ready to go?"

The only reply she got was a nod before the room's occupant moved towards the desk. "Let me get my bag."

"Okay. Let's go." The schoolgirl rushed as she moved back into the hallway, allowing the other teen to collect his things and lock the door behind him.

The trip to Iwatodai Station was quicker than last night. Partly because the two teens could move at a brisk pace as it wasn't the Dark Hour, mostly because Yukari knew the city better than the newcomer and the route was a lot shorter compared to the route given in the directions. Most of the conversation on route consisted of Yukari explaining how to get hold of his student card and the benefits, which included free use of the monorail to and from school, it offered. It wasn't until the monorail approached Port Island Station that Yukari changed the subject.

"So that's it," she stated as she pointed to the while building complex in the middle of the island. "See? There it is."

The silver-eyed junior nodded an affirmative, although his eyes didn't leave the school building. Why did he have a feeling he'd been here before?

And why did it feel like the school building wasn't tall enough?

He contemplated these questions as they exited the monorail and moved with the crowd towards the building. It wasn't until Yukari walked in front of him that he noticed that they'd reached the gates.

"Well this is it. We're here," the brunette stated. "Welcome to Gekkoukan High School. Hope you like it."

"Thanks," he replied with a smirk and a half bow before they started moving back towards the entryway.

"You're okay from here, right? You should go see your homeroom teacher first," she explained as they stooped next to the lockers. "The Faculty Office is right there to the left. ...And that concludes the tour. Do you have any questions before I go?"

The teen did a quick scan before answering, "None that I can think of. I'll see you later."

As he started to move away Yukari called to him again. "Hey..." She quickly paused as she eyed the other pupils. "About last night... Don't tell anyone about what you saw, okay?" After his nod in agreement she gave him one last smile before she started to move away. "See you later." With that he was left to his own devices.

He once again took a browse around the hallway, picking up bits of a conversation from a tanned girl complaining about how the guy she was talking to was in his tracksuit and not his uniform. He sighed before deciding that just standing there wouldn't get him anywhere and he headed for the bulletin board. He was new so he should at least try and make a good first impression with his homeroom teacher. Knowing who he or she was and which group he was in would help in that regard.

Well that would have been the plan if his bloody name had been on the board in the first place.

Ah well, the best laid plans...

He followed Yukari's directions, passing what seemed to be a teacher, wearing a samurai helmet, chatting enthusiastically with an equally excited student, who carried a fan, before reaching the second door on the left. He checked the plaque on the wall confirming his location before knocking and sliding the door open.

Most of the teachers ignored him, until a female teacher in a peach trouser suit ensemble moved towards him. "Oh, are you the new student?" she asked as she started to look through the file she had on top of the book she was carrying. She watched as the student nodded his affirmative before she started to look though the file. "Arisato Minato... 11th grade, correct? Wow, you've lived in a lot of different places..." She didn't know the half of it. "In 1999... That was what, ten years ago? Your parents..."

He couldn't stop himself from clenching his fists. Here it comes.

And as expected the teacher let out a gasp as her eyes slowly turned from a look of interest to a look of pity. "I'm sorry... I've been so busy I didn't have time to read this beforehand," she admitted as the look of pity changed to embarrassment. "I'm Toriumi-Sensei, I teach composition. Welcome to our school."

Deciding to let her off the hook, he gave the teacher a small smile accompanied with a half bow. "Pleased to meet you."

"Have you seen the classroom assignments?" the tutor asked.

"I had a look but couldn't find my mine on it," the blue-haired junior admitted.

"Well you're in 2-F; that's my class. But first we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. Follow me."

Oh joy, a welcoming ceremony. Well at least he could try and make up for some of the lost sleep from the palaver last night.

Granted it turned out to be harder than he thought as he ended up at the end of a row, but he knew that he'd be able to get away with at least zoning out for the duration of the speech.

"As you begin the new school year, I'd like each of you to remember the proverb, "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well." When applied to student life, this means..."

"Psst… Hey!" As he heard the hushed call for attention from behind him he realised that maybe it was one of those days where things didn't end up like planned. "You came to school with Yukari this morning, right? I saw you two walking together. Hey, I have a question. Do you know if she has a boyfriend?"

Minato's head found his hand quite quickly as he muffled the sigh that escaped. Realising that he wouldn't get out of this without an answer he simple replied with a small shrug and a "Don't know."

"I see. I thought you might know, but... I guess not. ...So, how well do you know her?"

"I hear talking," a male voice stated. "I believe it's someone from Toriumi-Sensei's class..."

"Shhh! Be quiet! You're going to get me into trouble." And that, thankfully, was the end of that.

--

_Tuesday, 7th of April 2009. 17:05_

Well as first days go that hadn't been too bad, after all most of the day had been taken up with the usual preamble that you get as the school year starts.

During lunchtime he'd managed to convince Toriumi-Sensei to let him have a look through the club list, so he could find out who this S.E.E.S. was and which teacher was bonkers enough to advise it. Sadly he'd hit a brick wall in that aspect; there were no clubs in the book that fit the name or nothing else seemed to fit. He'd even resorted to asking his homeroom teacher if she knew what S.E.E.S. was, lying through his teeth about how he'd noticed that a dorm mate was a member and he was interested about that they did. Alas the teacher didn't know what the hell he was talking about. Seeing that he'd made an excuse that he'd probably read the armband wrong and he'd have a word when he returned to the dorm.

However this little fact-finding exercise left him with more questions than answers. The biggest question being: What the hell was going on?

Deciding that a decent walk would help him sort this all out, he quickly stood up from his desk, having a quick stretch before moving to get his bag.

"Sup dude," a voice to his right greeted. "How's it goin'?"

The first thing of any real note was the royal blue baseball cap, not something worn often around here, the shirt of the same colour stood out too along with the gold chain. "Who are you?" May as well get the basic questions out of the way.

"Me?" the baseball capped teen queried. "I'm Junpei Iori, nice to meet ya. I transferred here when I was in eighth grade, so I know how tough it is bein' the new kid. So I wanted to say: 'Hey'."

The sentiment was nice; the little wave when he said 'Hey!' was just silly.

"...See what a nice guy I am!"

Yep silly could sum it up. Luckily he was saved as the door slid open and Yukari entered the homeroom.

"Hey it's Yuka-tan!" Junpei turned to the incoming brunette. "I didn't think we'd be in the same class again."

This comment was greeted with a sigh. "At it again, huh? I swear you'll talk to anyone if they'll listen," the brunette started to berate. "Did you ever think you might be bothering someone?"

The look of shock on the face of Junpei was priceless. "What? But, I was just bein' friendly."

"If you say so," Yukari dismissed before turning her attention to the new boy. "Anyway, looks like we're in the same homeroom..."

"Seems so." Granted it would have been hard not to notice when said person is in front of you.

"Funny, huh?" A small smirk was his only real response.

"Um, hello? Are you forgetting that I'm in this class too?" The other teen asked before a smirk appeared on his face. "By the way, I heard you two came to school together this morning. What's up with that? C'mon, gimme the dirt!"

"Wh-What are you talking about!?" Yukari stammered before her eyes turned hard. "We live in the same dorm. There's nothing going on, okay? Why are people even talking about it!? Now you have me worried..."

Charming.

While the blue-haired junior may not have been interested in a relationship, especially with this girl, at the moment, having the attractive brunette dismiss the idea so completely stung. When Yukari turned her attention back towards Minato, completely oblivious to the snub she'd just delivered. "Hey... You didn't say anything to anyone about... You know what, did you?"

"No." He confirmed with a shake of his head.

"Okay, good," she stated as she let out the breath she was holding. "Seriously... Don't say anything about last night, alright."

The silver eyes closed as the junior placed his head in his hands; she couldn't have just said that could she?

The look of astonishment on Junpei's face answered that.

"Wh-What?" Yukari asked after seeing the look on the taller teen's face.

"La-Last Night…?" Junpei replied to her query finally cluing the brunette that her last comment could be taken to mean something else.

"W-Wait a minute! Don't get the wrong idea!" she replied. Mortification written over her features as her voice attracted the attention of most of their classmates. "Listen! I just met him yesterday…" Technically this morning. "…and there is absolutely nothing going on between us! Geez…"

Honestly, he was surprised that she hadn't gone for the full hog and added "I wouldn't go out with him in a million years!"

There was a few seconds of silence before the brunette decided to make her escape. "I've gotta go. I've got something to take care of for the kyudo team. But, you better not start any rumours!" she hissed as she finally fled the scene.

"Ah, who cares? No one takes rumours seriously, anyway. She's so paranoid..." the junior muttered before turning his attention to the smaller teen beside him. "But, hey! It's your first day here, and people are already talkin' about you! Believe it or not, she's actually pretty popular. You da man! Heheh, this is gonna be a fun year. I can feel it!"

Arisato Minato reinforced something about Takeba Yukari that he'd realised up last night. While she was charming and popular, as it turned out, if your life depended on her ability to lie on the spot… Well you'd better write your will now.

"So what you doing after school? Wanna hang out?"

After agreeing to walk home with his new acquaintance, Minato finished putting his things in his bag before they left the school grounds. Before they went their separate ways a few blocks outside Iwatodai Station, Junpei pretty much talked non-stop; telling jokes, pointing out places of interest, giving advice about certain aspects of school life and generally being overexcited. Minato had to smile, while some of the pieces of info had been useful, other pieces were useless or just plain wrong, he had enjoyed the time he'd spent walking around with his classmate. Although Junpei was an idiot there was sincerity and a touch of loneliness behind the immaturity. In some ways the teen reminded him of Ryoji.

Maybe being friends with idiots wasn't so bad after all.

--

_Tuesday, 7th of April 2009. 18:05_

The private jet landed in a small airfield a few miles outside of Iwatodai a few minutes earlier than planned. This suited the passenger fine, as it would give him that extra time to acclimatise before the difficult work began. First off he had to locate Minato before the next full moon so he'd be in position for when the situation hit the fan. He'd also need to get hold of the rest of his required equipment, after all there was a chance he'd meet opposition to his goals. The young heir gave the stewardess a knee-buckling smile as he passed her and exited down the ramp towards the attendants who were waiting for him.

"Mochizuki-Sama," the old man leading the group addressed the heir, accompanied with a bow, as he descended the ramp.

"Hiroshi-san," Ryoji replied, with a carefree smile and a mock bow. "How many times must I keep telling you to call me Ryoji?"

"Always one more than you already have," the sixty year old replied as he fell in beside his young master.

A small smile came to Ryoji's face. "Is that so?"

"Indeed," his advisor replied as they climbed into their waiting vehicle. He ordered the driver begin their journey before finally carrying on the conversation. "I trust the board wasn't too vocal in its objection?"

"The old fossils where as vocal as expected," he explained. "It's lucky Gekkoukan is the current educator of the heiress of the Kirijo Group. The board are still looking for ways to keep things amicable between both sides and a friendship between the two heirs will be a good way to forming a mutually beneficial relationship in the... Ugh! I'm starting to sound like them now," Admitted the teen as he cast away his eyes in frustration.

"Now, now Mochizuki-Sama, your backstabbing capabilities aren't quite honed enough for that."

"At least now I know why Nii-san decided to follow his parents' wishes," he laughed before the mirth vanished. "Have you been able to find him?"

"Yes." Ryoji was passed a slip of paper with an address written on it. "Arisato-Sama has been assigned to a co-ed dorm on mainland Iwatodai."

"Co-ed eh?" he replied with a lady-killer smirk. "I guess there no chance of staying at the dorms then?"

"No." Aw well, it was worth a shot. "The board have made it very clear that you are to stay within the Mochizuki residence here in Iwatodai."

"So they can keep an eye on me then."

"Sadly that is the truth. However it won't take too much effort to have the offending members of staff removed."

"I'll leave that in your capable hands then."

"I must say finding Arisato-Sama was a bit more difficult than expected." After receiving the nod to continue, he carried on. "The records state that he should have been assigned to a room in the boys-only dorm on Port Island. There was a deliberate change just before the welcome pack was sent out."

"Any idea who ordered the change?"

"We can't say. It seems to have been done at the last moment in order that the paper trail couldn't be followed. I'd have racked it down to a clerical error if it wasn't the fact that he's now in the same dorm as Kirijo Mitsuru."

"He's been placed with the heiress of the Kirijo Group?" There were few things left that could shock the teen, especially after he'd regained his suppressed memories, but this had to count as one of them. "Do they know…?"

"No. The board have been quite thorough in keeping the discord hidden inside the organisation. They know that the business world would see it as a sign of weakness."

However there was a second, more serious, question. "Does the board know?"

"No. I've made very sure that they don't know where Arisato-Sama is or of the situation." The old advisor stated. "I don't think I would be able to face Itsuto-Sama in whatever the next world is if I failed either of you two."

"He's not my father," Ryoji replied. After all, his origins came from something a bit more extraordinary.

"You are Arisato-Sama's brother are you not?" When the advisor saw the small nod he let out a small smile before finishing his argument. "Then it doesn't matter about the details. You have their blood in your veins and they would have taken you on as their son regardless."

"I guess once I reach the next life I'll find out," the heir stated before changing the topic. "Did you bring the thing I asked for?"

The advisor pulled a small metal briefcase from the floor in the car and passed it over to the young heir. "A Kirijo Group Evoker as requested."

Ryoji opened the case, looked of the silver handgun stored within. It may not be able to fire proper bullets, but against the type of foe he would be facing, it was the best weapon he could hope for. Everything was starting to come together. "Thank you."

--

_Tuesday, 7th of April 2009. 23:38_

Kirijo Mitsuru sat on one of the couches in the lounge within the dorm. The TV was on, however that just served to provide background noise as she carried on reading the file she'd acquisitioned from the student records cabinet. Her encounter with Arisato Minato last night had sparked her interest in the new student, during her time in charge of S.E.E.S. she had been involved with monitoring dozens of students to see if they had the potential. So far they had found four.

Four

And one of those had quit so that pretty much left it at three. One thing that always annoyed her was that no one actually questioned what happened within this dorm. There were occasions where she had walked past a candidate in full club getup and they hadn't even queried what she was doing. At best she was questioned about the gun she carried and her generic excuse about self-defence always ended any more questions.

Arisato Minato had changed that.

The fact that he'd entered the dorm during the Dark Hour, as if nothing was wrong genuinely excited her. Those that she had encountered with potential were unsuitable for combating the threat that S.E.E.S. had been formed to deal with. Those who were took a while to adjust; Takeba for example had taken a while to get over the existence of the Dark Hour after she had awakened to her potential and that she still couldn't bring herself to summon forth her Persona. Arisato didn't have an issue with the Dark Hour, which only left a query about if he could bring himself to summon his Persona.

They would see in time.

There was also the fact that he was suspicious of what was going on. It didn't take a psychoanalyst to figure out that he had been wary of both Takeba and herself during their first meeting, partly because Takeba had nearly drawn on him. On that thought, she'd have to look into the Group's research into Evokers. Someone nutcase must have done an experiment on what would happen if someone shot someone else with an Evoker. If not, then it was best if she'd made sure it would never happen. Anyway, Arisato had been surprised by their ability to function in the Dark Hour, the breach of his mask had been subtle but she had spotted it. This left her to believe that he'd been aware of the Dark Hour for a while and had adapted to it already. This opened a small window of hope deep down.

Was this someone who could have lived with this as long as she had?

She was also impressed by his attitude to the incident once the Dark Hour was over. He'd questioned them as to why they had handguns and when she'd given the generic excuse, she could tell that although he had let the matter drop then he wasn't going to just leave it at that.

And he hadn't.

When she had gone to pick up his file, Toriumi-Sensei had spoken to her about how Minato was asking about a club called S.E.E.S. She'd managed to smooth over the situation pretty much by telling the teacher it was probably the student ethical and environmental discussion group and that he must have mistaken the D for an S. Fortunately Toriumi dropped the subject after this as she stated that Arisato had come to the conclusion that he'd misread something as well. They weren't dealing with an idiot. She'd seen that when his sharp eyes had locked onto hers in order to try and read more into the situation, seen that same one-eyed look turn Takeba into a nervous wreck who couldn't lie to save her life. He was intelligent, had perception and was also cautious enough to not rattle the cage with too many questions, qualities that she found very attractive in a man…

Not that she was looking for that sort of… Anyway

That actually left her with a worrying question: Would he find the camouflaged security camera hidden in his room?

"I'm going out for a bit," she heard a voice say as it moved in front of where she was sitting.

"Hm…?" she queried as she turned her attention to the only resident of the dorm Arisato hadn't met.

"Didn't you see the newspaper? There's a lot going on," the silver-haired senior stated.

Mitsuru sighed as she rested the file on her lap. "...I know. People who had no problems before are suddenly developing acute cases of Apathy Syndrome... I've seen it in the news quite often lately. They say it's due to stress, but..."

"Yeah, right. It has to be THEM. Otherwise, it's not worth my time," the teen replied as he tugged a crease out of his waistcoat.

Now she was worried. "You have a one-track mind... Will you be okay on your own? The Chairman will be here for the next few days, but after that, I can..."

"Don't worry. I'm just getting a little practice." It wasn't a surprise that the silver-haired senior wasn't too worried; although he was the school's undefeated boxing champion, he'd also been working for S.E.E.S for years. "What's that you're reading there…?"

Maybe she should have closed the file. "This? It's nothing…"

Too late. "Ah reading up on our guest are we?" the male asked, a smirk working its way onto his face.

"I take it Takeba has filled you in?"

"You mean the whole: Walks in during the Dark Hour like nothing's wrong, Yukari nearly shoots him with her Evoker, asks why you have guns, you lie through your teeth, goes to sleep, the end?"

"He actually asked one of the teachers what S.E.E.S. was during lunch."

"You're kidding me." Even she had to admit, the look silver-haired boxer gave her was gold.

"I wish I was. I bumped into Toriumi while getting this info, she asked me if I knew what he was talking about. Of course I said that he'd probably misread the club name, seems he came to the same conclusion."

"Yeah, right."

"He's investigating us," Mitsuru stated. "The chairman is coming over to do a few nights of analysis before we approach him."

"If he's that sharp he'll notice the camera before then," he pointed out. "We should just talk to him now, before he finds out the truth on his own and we lose a potential ally because of trust issues."

"I know." To be honest she'd been down this train of thought as well. Even if he didn't have the potential there were things that someone this intelligent could do to help. "But it's not my call. The Chairman has to agree."

"Hold on." The smirk resurfaced. "You went to get his file before talking to Toriumi-Sensei."

A slight blush appeared on the heiress' cheeks. "Well… Yes… But…"

"Is the Ice Maiden of the Kirijo Group actually interested in a guy?" The look on his face was pretty much the same as it would have been if he'd just seen hell freeze over while breathing laughing gas.

Crimson eyes narrowed. "If you even consider carrying on with this conversation, I will execute you."

Suddenly the smirk was on the other face as the look of amused surprise turned to a look of fear and horror. "W-Well… I-I'll just be going."

The smirk turned into a full-on grin as the boxer, in a move of retreat, tripped over the table and then scurried out of the door. Only when he was gone did the grin turn into a look of concern as she sighed. "This isn't a game, Akihiko..."

She glanced once more at the photo attached to the file. Okay she had to admit, he was attractive and he interested her, but she was a Kirijo. She was expected to marry a man selected for her by the head family as a way to bring the group forward. It was safer not to risk falling in love with someone if you couldn't be together.

The idiot who wrote 'It is better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all' didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

--

_Wednesday, 8th of April 2009. 14:38_

Today things in class were more as he expected. He'd sat through most of the lectures, taking casual notes and trying not to look too bored out of his skull. That, in some aspects, was the problem with the Dark Hour; since no electronics work during it except the clock he'd been given by the idiot, he had to rely on books to see him through when he couldn't sleep.

And most of the books he had were his textbooks.

Of course he had to study during the day or others would wonder how he was learning this stuff; after all teachers didn't cover everything. So he'd study during the day when the others did and then on the nights that he couldn't sleep. This of course led to him being in ahead of everyone else in all of the subjects. This caused problems to be honest. Mostly from students who proclaimed themselves the smartest in class, only to get beaten in all the tests by the quiet guy in the corner, who spends most of his time in a set of headphones.

Over the years the problem got a bit trickier as eventually he ended up being about half a year in front of the other students. Fortunately this was solved by the fact that Ryoji had come into his life. With that his nights were spent between stopping the idiot from getting himself expelled, raiding the library for any book that interested him, sleeping and reading.

That was the past though; best to pay attention to the present.

"Hakushu Kitahara is great, but I think I prefer Fuyuhiko Yoshimura." Minato turned his attention back to Toriumi-sensei. "His works aren't as famous, but that's what I like about him. My Personal favourite is 'Mangekyo.' Why isn't it ever in textbooks...? I'll bring it next time so

you can write an essay on it. ...Hey, Junpei! Were you listening? Who did I say was my favourite author?"

The look on Junpei's face automatically told him that his friend hadn't been listening. He watched Junpei stammer of a few second before taking pity on him and slipping him a piece of paper with the answer. "Err... Fuyuhiko Yoshimura?"

"That's right! So you were listening to me after all!" The teacher replied in delight.

"Hehehe... Well you know how I like to pay attention." He replied with a stupid grin on his face.

Pillock.

--

_Wednesday, 8th of April 2009. 19:38_

Not wanting to head straight back home, he hit the mall, hoping to take Junpei's advice and check out the music store there. After picking up a, probably unadvisable, caffeine-laced energy drink from a vending machine he decided to head back to the dorms and at least try and start the assignment due in for next Tuesday.

Granted once he entered the dorm his plan to slip into his room, away from the two females and the whole S.E.E.S. business, ground to a halt as he noticed Yukari sitting with a middle aged man in a suit.

"Oh, he's back." Yukari stated as she and the man stood up to welcome the blue-haired teen.

"Good evening. My name is Ikutsuki Shuji. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school," the man introduced himself offering the younger man his hand to shake. Minato kept his hands in his pocket for a few seconds, making sure to suitably unnerve the newcomer before finally shaking the proffered hand. "'Ikutsuki'... Hard to say, isn't it? That's why I don't like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes... Please, have a seat."

Minato followed the direction and took a seat on the same couch as Yukari.

"I apologize about the confusion regarding your accommodations." Right. "However, it may take a while longer before you receive a proper room assignment. Is there anything you'd like to ask?"

"Why are you here?" Minato asked straight out.

"To welcome you, of course." It seemed for a second he was going to stop there, but the uncomfortable feeling caused by the piercing stare of Minato's unobstructed eye, caused him to continue. "Well, to be honest, I do have other business here. Speaking of which... where is Mitsuru, Yukari?"

"She's upstairs." Yukari responded.

"As diligent as always." _Diligent!_ That set off multiple alarm bells at once. "Although, it doesn't hurt to come down and say hello... Is there anything else?"

"Who else is living here?"

"There are only four students in this dorm: you, Yukari here, Mitsuru, and a senior named Sanada Akihiko. I hope you all get along. Any other questions?" That added another question. This dorm was a nice place, why the hell was it a co-ed with only 4 people? Granted it could have been explained by the presence of Kirijo Mitsuru, as her father's company owned the school, but that didn't answer all the questions.

"Nothing I can think of," The weary teen responded.

"Then, I hope you have a successful school year. Now, if you'll excuse me..." The chairman stood up from the comfy chair he'd been sitting in. "You must be tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early. As they say, 'The early bird catches the bookworm!'"

A hand slapped into the owner's face as a loud groan emitted.

A quick nervous chuckle filled the silence before the chairman gave an apology. "Please forgive the bad pun." Then the chairman made a quick retreat up the staircase.

"...You'll get used to his lame jokes," Yukari reassured before she too headed for the staircase.

He couldn't explain why, but he had a bad feeling about Ikutsuki Shuji and the questions he had so far just left him tired.

--

_Wednesday, 8th of April 2009. 23:58_

The fourth floor of the dorm only consisted of two rooms, the control room and the Chairman's office. Mitsuru and Yukari were sitting in front of the control panel for the dorm's security camera system, monitoring the output from Arisato Minato's room. The heiress could tell that the newest member of S.E.E.S. didn't feel comfortable about doing this. To be honest she had her doubts as well, but it was imperative that they discover if the transfer student had the potential.

"Working hard?" She turned to see that the Chairman had left his office. "So, how's he doing?"

Mitsuru got up from her chair as she delivered her report. "He went to bed a little while ago. He's asleep now. Mr. Chairman, do you think he's...?"

The Chairman shushed her question before stating. "Well, let's wait and see for now. ...The Dark Hour is approaching."

A few moments later the clock hit midnight.

Unlike the rest of the dorm's electrical appliances the security camera system and the control panel stayed active. They had been installed by the Kirijo group with technology, developed to protect electrical systems from the effects of the Dark Hour. As such they could see that the cobalt-haired teen still remained unchanged within the confines of his room.

The Chairman watched the image for a few seconds before finally commenting. "Hmm… He's still sleeping." Well that was quite obvious. "The Dark Hour occurs every day at 12 midnight; you could say it's the "hidden" hour. During this time, an ordinary person Transmogrifies into a coffin, and is oblivious to all that occurs."

"Then he must be..." the brunette extrapolated.

"As you can see, he's retained his human form. He's asleep, but he's definitely experiencing the Dark Hour." The Chairman took a quick pause before continuing. "The only question that remains is whether or not he has the potential. Although, he must. ...If he didn't, they would've preyed on him by now."

"...Scary..." Yukari muttered.

"In any case, we should continue to monitor him for a few more days," the Chairman concluded.

"I've already expressed my opinion on this, but it's your call." Mitsuru replied.

"I feel kinda bad, though, spying on him like this..." Yukari admitted as her head turned back towards the sleeping form on the monitor.

--

He was surrounded by total darkness.

That alone was unusual, but added to the feeling of being pulled forward it was bizarre. Slowly in the distance he could see a spot of velvet, as he was dragged closer he realised that the spot was in fact a door and it seemed to be his destination. As he got closer the door opened allowing him entrance.

When his senses returned he found himself sitting at a table surrounded by the colour velvet.

"Welcome to the Velvet room, my dear young man," an old, slightly creepy voice greeted the silver-eyed teen, drawing his attention to the old man with a pointy nose who sat opposite him. "My name is Igor. ...I am delighted to make your acquaintance," the man introduced himself before gesturing towards the woman in a velvet uniform who stood next to him. "This is Elizabeth. She's a resident here, like myself."

"Pleased to meet you," the elevator attendant greeted, with a slight nod that the visitor returned.

"Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place..." the old man explained, flicking hand to make the contract appear on the table between them. "Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return... that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices that you make."

The contract.

_I chooseth mine fate of mine own free will._

Well that was one less thing to worry about. "I understand." The visitor answered.

"Good, good. Then you should hold onto this." A velvet coloured key appeared in the old man's hand. He placed it on the table before pushing it towards the visitor who picked the key up without hesitation. "'Til we meet again..."

And with that Arisato Minato returned to the land of dreams.

In the morning he'd wake up to find the velvet key in resting in the palm of his hand.

--

_Thursday, 9th of April 2009. 07:54_

It was a strange dream, even stranger however was the key he found in his hand when he'd woken up the next morning. He attached it to his keychain; you never knew when something like that could come in handy.

As he approached the gates he heard someone call his name. A quick browse picked up Junpei trying to get his attention.

"What's up!?" the baseball-capped teen greeted enthusiastically. "Man, today is the perfect day! The sky is blue... We're young... What more could we ask for!?"

"Well you're lively today," the cobalt-haired junior replied with a faint smile.

"Of course! Dude, listen to this..." He paused before he quickly realised something. "Oh, wait! I'm not supposed to say anything! Sorry, man," he apologised with a small chuckle before they carried on into the school building.

For the morning period he had to listen to Ekoda-sensei try and fail miserably to dress up classic literature as a "cool" part of modern culture. In the afternoon he watched as Miyahara-sensei completely side-tracked herself from the topic, by getting caught up on how good the numbers looked. By the time he'd returned to the dorm he was more than prepared to sleep the rest of the month away. Hell at this rate he'd still be ahead in all of his classes.

--

_Thursday, 9th of April 2009. DH:03_

In the control room on the fourth floor, once again the room of one Arisato Minato was being monitored.

"So how's he doing?" Ikutsuki Shuji asked as he entered.

Mitsuru let out a slight chuckle of disbelief. "He's actually reading a book."

At the look on the Chairman's face Yukari explained. "He actually came in at about six and just went straight to his room."

"He's was asleep until about ten minutes ago. Since then he pulled out a book and has just sat at his desk, reading it." The redhead paused to remove an errant lock before continuing. "He didn't even react when the power went out, although I suspect the full moon is providing more than enough light as it is."

"Hmm… Very interesting." The scientist scratched his chin in thought. "Even those who have the potential tend to be unstable at first... Memory loss... disorientation... But, this subject is rather unique. He hasn't exhibited any of the common symptoms."

Yukari shook her head as the word subject came up. "But... we're treating him like a guinea pig."

"I understand your concern, but it's imperative that we recruit new members," the chairman tried to placate the younger girl. "I heard he's your classmate... Wouldn't you be more comfortable working with someone from the same grade?"

"Yeah, I guess. But, still..." Yukari faltered.

Mitsuru kept her head down, torn on if she should back up the Chairman or her dorm mate. Although she agreed with the Chairman that they needed to strengthen their numbers, he was still a scientist and there were times when his ways didn't really help matters along. Granted she and Yukari didn't exactly get along too well, but she agreed with her about one thing.

If Arisato found out that he was being monitored, before the Chairman had his fill of evaluating him as a research subject, there would be hell to pay.

The standoff was ended by an incoming call from the control panel, which Mitsuru quickly answered. "Command room. Is that you Akihiko?"

His voice was distorted by the transceiver, it didn't help that it sounded like he was running. "You're not gonna believe this...! This thing is huge!" the boxer stated. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to talk... It's chasing me... I wanted to let you guys know. I'm almost there."

"Does that mean... he's bringing that thing here!?" Yukari exclaimed as she quickly stood up from her seat.

Well, at least this settled the matter. Arisato was awake in his room; if they had a battle with one of THEM here, then they couldn't hide it anymore. "Mr. Chairman! Let's suspend our observation for now. We'll prepare for battle!" She stated as she rose from her seat.

The Chairman looked suitably worried. "...R-Right! Be careful!"

Mitsuru quickly picked up her rapier, watching as Takeba picked up both her own bow and a quiver of arrows as well as a short sword. Deciding there wasn't time to ask, she bolted out the room, Takeba right behind her and the chairman lagging at the back.

They arrived in the lounge to find Akihiko slumped against the door. "Akihiko!" The heiress called as she saw his state.

"Sempai!" She watched as Takeba leaned down beside the silver-haired boxer to check his injuries.

"I'm alright. Get ready to be surprised... It'll be here any second," the injured teen replied before groaning as Takeba placed her hand on a sore spot.

"This is no time to joke around!" the redhead hissed in response. This was bad; they had only 4 people who could possibly take on Shadows, one was injured, one couldn't bring herself to summon, there was herself and the last was a complete unknown, who didn't even know what was going on.

"Is it one of them, Akihiko?" the Chairman asked, a frown on his face.

The boxer looked at the scientist before replying, "Yes, but not an ordinary one…"

The ground shook.

"Ahh!! What the...!?" the brunette called in alarm before she regained her footing. "...You've gotta be kidding me!"

The heiress closed her eyes as she drew her Evoker. "Mr. Chairman, please head for the command room! Takeba, go upstairs and get Arisato! Then, escape out the back."

"But what about you two?" the brunette asked as she stood up.

"We'll stop it here," she announced. "You led it to us, Akihiko, so I'm afraid you'll have to fight."

If looks could kill… "Like I had a choice!" he snarled in response before turning his attention to the other girl in the room. "What are you waiting for, Yukari? Go!"

With that, the brunette ran.

--

He'd already been on edge since he'd woken up; the feeling of trepidation he always linked to the Dark Hour had increased ten-fold when this one had began. Luckily he'd procured a book of short stories from the library and had been reading the book as a method of calming down.

The commotion down the staircase had drawn his attention from the book; the building shaking had made him close it.

He quickly put on his school uniform, since it was close at hand, deciding to forgo the tie and leave the top two buttons undone. If some teacher was going to decide to have a go at him for not wearing his uniform properly in the middle of the night, well they could go swing.

As he was ready to go and investigate someone started banging on the door. "Wake up!!" He heard Yukari shout before he heard a key turning in the door. "Sorry, I'm coming in!"

Why did she have a key to his bloody room?

That question went out of his mind when he saw that she was armed with a bow, a quiver of arrows, a short sword in a sheath and her silver handgun. Even so there was a look of pure panic on her face. "Problem?"

"I don't have time to explain. We have to get out of here, now!" she announced.

Okay, so there was a problem. "What's…"

Before he could finish the building started to shake again. "Hurry! Downstairs! We'll leave through the back door!" He nodded his response as he watched her turn her back to leave. She paused for a second before removing the short sword and sheath and passing it to him. "Wait! ...Take this, just in case."

Taking the weapon, he had a quick look over before using the hooks to attach it to his belt. Once he had done so, a frantic dorm mate dragged him towards the staircase.

He followed the brunette as she led him to the back door, all the while looking through the key chain in her possession for the key needed to unlock it. "Okay we should be safe now…"

Famous last words.

Just as she found the key, the strange watch she was wearing started to beep. He watched her press a few buttons and then he could hear the voice of the other female occupant. "Takeba, do you read me!?"

"Y-Yes! I hear you!" She replied.

"Be careful! There is more than one enemy," the redhead informed them, a bit short on breath. "The one we're fighting isn't the one Akihiko ran into."

Something slammed into the back door. "Err… Senpai... I'll get back to you," the brunette replied as she deactivated the transceiver.

"I think we better pull back," the silver-eyed teen stated calmly as he took a step away from the door.

The brunette jumped as once again something slammed into the door, quickly nodding to her companion before they bolted back to the steps. Taking a quick stock it was apparent that heading out either doorway was suicidal. "What are we going to do...? They're downstairs! Do we have any choice but to go back up?"

Seeing no other choice the pair rushed up the stairwell, seeing as none of the floors had anywhere to go and the command room would be a dead end, they ended up taking the stairs to the exit onto the roof. Hoping that they could take the fire escape and meet up with their other two dorm mates. As they reached the exit onto the roof Yukari quickly unlocked it, ushered the other teen through and locked it behind them.

"That might not have been wise," the silver-eyed junior started as he saw… something climb over the edge of the roof. "What is...?"

The main body was a black... mass; there was no better way to describe it really. From the mass there were many hands, one of which held a mask, another four armed with swords and the others propelled it forward.

All in all it didn't look good.

Yukari moved to shield him, an odd move in itself, as it was usually the male that shielded the female. Once she was in position she finally started to explain. "These monsters. We call them Shadows."

With that she pulled the silver handgun from her thigh holster and aimed it at her own head, ignoring the fact that her companion may consider her to be raving. The first time she nearly pulled the trigger she panicked as the monster released bursts of energy close to her. The second attempt failed spectacularly as one of those blasts knocked her off balance and a sword knocked the weapon out of her hands.

It landed in a puddle just at Minato's feet.

--

The two experienced members of S.E.E.S. finally managed to find their two dorm mates on the security camera system. Takeba was down and Arisato stood facing the Shadow effectively unarmed. Mitsuru threw a look at the injured boxer who stood by her side, both nodding their heads in agreement they turned towards the exit and started moving to help the newcomer.

"Wait," the chairman ordered. Both veterans both started to issue objections before they noticed what was happening on the screen.

Arisato had picked up Takeba's Evoker.

--

He looked at the weapon he held in his hands, trying to make sense of what Yukari was trying to do with it before this creature knocked her down. His right hand was wrapped around the grip while the left cradled the barrel. As he looked over the detailed work, instantly noticing the initials S.E.E.S. engraved on its length. He noted that the weapon didn't seem to take magazines, as a battery of some sort seemed to be the clip.

The young boy was right; this wasn't a real gun.

Yukari had been moments from shooting herself with this weapon before this Shadow had interfered. Did that mean this weapon had the power to stop this thing? And why did this require the user to shoot themselves in the head?

He looked up at the creature once again, time seemed to slow for a few seconds, in his mind he saw an image of the six year old child he'd met on the night he had come to this dorm. The child gave him an encouraging smile before saying, "Go on." Then he was gone.

This felt so wrong.

His left hand left the barrel and clenched by his side.

This felt so wrong.

Trying to keep the hand holding the weapon steady, as it was moved up towards the side of his own head.

This felt so wrong.

As the cold metal touched his head, he couldn't help but smirk. Suddenly there was a feeling, a calming sensation which came from somewhere deep down within his own soul and it changed his nervousness to confidence.

Suddenly this felt so natural.

He then muttered a word, deliberately emphasising each syllable.

"Per-so-na."

He pulled the trigger, listened to the sound of gunfire and then to a noise that sounded remarkably like glass shattering.

Silver eyes glowed as he instantly felt the shards of energy, which also looked similar to shards of glass, swirl around him and pool into the form behind him. Somehow he knew he wouldn't need to turn around to see what the form looked like, because deep down in his soul he already knew.

"Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I cometh. I am Orpheus, master of strings..." the being announced.

The smirk turned into a grin as the Shadow in front of him shifted backwards slightly. Now we'd see who should be the one to feel fear.

--

The three figures in the command room watched the scene unfold on the monitor.

There was silence for a few moments before finally Mitsuru brought herself to speak, "As we suspected."

Arisato Minato was a Persona-user.

Shock turned to concern as the blue-haired junior raised his free hand to his head. Genuine worry worked through the three occupants that there could be another incident with an out of control Persona. Mitsuru made to move for the doorway, but a white light emitting from Arisato's Persona caused her to pause. As the events unfolded, a gasp escaped from the heiress, her eyes stayed firmly rooted to the monitor.

--

Minato felt a surge of power, its intensity causing the teen to stagger as he moved his free hand to cradle his forehead. The other teen on the roof having recovered from her slight knock, in time to see the charge she was supposed to be protecting was instead protecting her. When he staggered back, she was about to call out in worry before the words died in her mouth as she spotted the white light emitting from his Persona.

The harp on the Persona's back started to glow white, the tip of it extending higher than the being's head, to form a sword-shaped monolith. Two new protrusions then formed on each side, the ends forming into claws before the glow started to travel downwards, forming what could only be wings. Once the work was complete the two claws move together, locking around the figure's waist.

The sound holes on the shoulders vanished as a white studded bodice wrapped itself around the Persona's stomach. Similar studded material also wrapped around the thin metal arms and legs, bulking them out so they were the same width as the rest of the appendage. The white light emitting from the Persona's face changed the skin tone from black to white, even its white hair seemed to change as it grew an inch or two.

A chain burst from the ground and wrapped itself around the being's left arm. The Persona only paused for a few moments, as its left hand got a solid grip on the chain and it was yanked free of the roof. As the chain came to a rest, four coffins materialised along its length. The free right hand rested on the middle of the Persona's chest, as if it was checking its own heartbeat. Once satisfied, its eyelids opened to reveal that the red eyes had turned silver.

The Shadow finally seemed to get back its nerve and started to charge at Minato. The new Persona didn't seem worried, it simply raised it's free hand, palm facing outwards, so it was pointed towards the approaching target and three beams of white energy lanced towards it's foe.

The first beam lanced through one of the arms the Shadow was using to propel itself forward, causing it to stagger, moments later the creature slammed into the roof, as the second beam took out another of these arms. The third beam lanced through one of the Shadow's sword arms leaving it with only three weapons.

The Persona suddenly shot forward. Its foe trying to meet it head on with two of its swords, only to lose them as the Persona swung its left hand, causing the coffins attached into an arc that crushed the two offending appendages. The free right hand grabbed hold of its foe, the area of contact on the Shadow melting as if it had come in to contact with a strong acid.

The Shadow made one last desperate attack on the Persona with its last sword arm. However in a feat of unfeasible control, the Persona whipped its left arm into the air, scythed blades appearing from the edges of the coffins, before it brought the chained weapon down in a diagonal arc. The mask was sliced in two, as was the final sword arm, which landed in front of a shocked Yukari, making one or two final erratic movements before it went still.

Claws unlocked from their resting place, as the being's wings unfurled just before it took to the skies, dragging the remains of the Shadow with it. The Persona stopped and faced the full moon, thrusting its defeated foe forward as if it was issuing a challenge before tossing it back onto the roof. The remains finally disintegrating into nothingness.

Minato felt the surge of power diminish as the Persona reverted back to Orpheus for a moment before returning to the place it held within the teenager's soul.

--

Stunned silence filled to command room.

"What in the world...!?" Akihiko asked as he shook his head in disbelief.

The Chairman had a similar look on his face. "Was that metamorphosis...? No his power hasn't awakened long enough for that." the scientist rationalised. "Maybe he's just changing Personas to one more suited to the situation. This is incredible!"

Akihiko turned towards the heiress, planning to say that maybe they should get up there, only to find that she was already rushing towards the door. A small smirk appeared on his face as he remembered the conversation from the other night.

It seemed that the Ice Maiden of the Kirijo Group _was_ interested in a guy after all.

--

"Is it over?" the brunette asked as she turned towards the other teen on the roof.

"Not yet," Minato replied as two smaller Shadows approached the pair.

The teen pushed the hand gun so it was secured between the waistband of his trousers and his belt before he drew the short sword Yukari had given him earlier. He tested the grip before contemplating what to do. He had no real battle experience to call upon, and although he was fairly fit, he hadn't taken part in any martial arts while at school and standard physical education was not geared towards this. The only real help he could call upon was things he had read several books; two on kendo, one on western sword fighting techniques, and a final one on reading your foes in battle. All in all there was only one thing he could do.

Trust his instincts and hope his luck hadn't run out just yet.

Years of avoiding attacks from bullies paid off and he was prepared as the first Shadow made its attack. He made a quick evasion to the left before counter-attacking with a slash aimed to the main body. It worked, throwing the Shadow off-balance. The blue-haired teen wasted no time as he loosened his grip on his blade, letting the hilt slip though his grip until he only held the end. He quickly passed the blade into his off-hand in a reverse grip before pulling the handgun from his belt, bringing it to his head and pulling the trigger.

Orpheus answered the call.

There was no surge of power this time. Instead the Persona descended on the stricken Shadow, pulling its harp from its place behind him and using it as a bludgeoning weapon. As the Shadow disintegrated into nothingness, the Persona backed away, before disappearing back to the place it came from. He returned the gun to its temporary resting place before turning to the other Shadow.

This time he took the initiative, charging towards the Shadow while keeping his blade in that reverse grip. As he reached his target he brought the blade up before using his good hand to apply extra force and thrusting the weapon through the Shadow's mask. This didn't quite have the effect that he was hoping for, as the Shadow, while injured, wasn't dead and Minato had to abandon the sword in order to avoid the Shadow's swiping claws. Once clear, the teenager, once again, pulled out the handgun and shot himself in the head. As previously Orpheus descended on the Shadow and used its harp to smash its target. Unlike last time, although the Shadow had stopped moving, it hadn't disappeared in a plume of nothingness.

"Is it dead?" the brunette asked as the blue-haired teen cautiously approached the unmoving Shadow.

"I think so," he replied as he passed the handgun into his off-hand before using his right hand to pull the sword out of the Shadow. It disintegrated the moment the blade was pulled free. A small smile appeared on the teen face as he sheathed the borrowed weapon.

It was over.

He suddenly felt the last traces of adrenaline leave his body as fatigue set in. He could just make out Yukari's call of alarm as he stumbled and dropped her handgun.

He was out before he could hit the roof.

**End of Chapter Two**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Competed version edited by Vocarin

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Well last time I left our hero unconscious, technically it wasn't a cliff-hanger as we all know he's going to be alright. However this hasn't stopped a few people cough maelstrom969 cough from asking for another chapter ASAP. Luckily as this is the weekend and I'm actually having a quiet weekend in, I've been able to work a chapter together quicker than expected. With this one out the way I'm about halfway through April so that's 14 days out of 310 done.

Just a quick note on a few Persona changes, with the way things are working I can't allow Minato to fight without having Orpheus within his selection of his Personas, as such I'm setting Orpheus to work as a base Persona that levels up with Minato (like everyone else's). As the player would have no choice now Orpheus wouldn't take up a standard Persona slot. This will cause a few fusion problems but I'll figure that out as we come to it. (I may say that you any 2 or 3 way fusion with the master of strings simply creates and an Orpheus of the same level with a selection of the abilities in the spread.) The second change is just a bit of house work. As Thanatos is... elsewhere, he cannot take his place as the ultimate Persona of the Death Arcana, as such I'm just going to lazy and move Anubis from Judgement to Death.

On a quick note (as suggested by Vocarin) for those who don't know a Rin is a subunit of the Yen, just like the Cent is a subunit of the Dollar and the Penny is a subunit of the Pound. Actually the Rin has stopped being used in Japan (according to Wikipedia at least so I'm not sure how much faith to put in that) but it fit what was trying to be said.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 3: **

_Thursday, 9th of April 2009. DH:16_

Although the Gekkoukan co-ed dorm was a large building, the building to its right was slightly higher. This gave the lone watcher a rather good view of the events that were currently happening on the dorm's rooftop.

The figure was dressed in a black hooded trench coat, worn over a black suit and white shirt, which had the top two button undone. Although you couldn't really tell as it was covered by a long black scarf, worn so that one end passed the figure's knees, a modern-looking scythe was held in the figure's left hand, the blade folded towards the staff in what seemed to be a standby position.

If he was going to use the weapon associated with death he may as well keep things up to date.

Mochizuki Ryoji had considered bringing his usual yellow scarf along instead of the black one he decided to wear. However, Nii-San would instantly recognise the trademark item and who it belonged to. The plan required for his involvement to be hidden until everything had started. It wouldn't do if Nii-san found out too soon. He'd be able to approach Nii-san once the events of tonight had transpired, even so he would have to keep his actual activities from him to prevent it from getting back to the old man.

He watched as the Shadow approached the person he had sworn to protect, resisting the desperate urge to leap from the roof and engage the Arcana Shadow himself. However, there were rules, and as much as he hated it, he wasn't allowed engage these Shadows himself.

That was the duty of Arisato Minato, and those who found the way to his side.

As such he could only watch as his Nii-san picked up the Evoker that the cute brunette had dropped, contemplate for a few moments before pointing it at himself and pulling the trigger.

Orpheus answered his call.

"So this is how you see yourself, Nii-san?" the watcher asked.

Curiosity turned to worry as he watched Minato stagger as he cradled his forehead with his free hand. Worry turned to shock as he watched the white light engulf the Persona. Shock turned to amusement as he finally figured out what was happening.

"My, my. He's being reckless," he muttered.

Although it would only be temporary: Orpheus had metamorphosised into Messiah.

As he watched, the saviour butchering the Arcana Shadow that had dared face him, he couldn't help but think of the risks. While Messiah was evoked, the power of the seal would be weakened.

There was a slim chance that once the Arcana Shadow was defeated, it would be able to subvert the weakened seal and merge with the essence hidden behind.

His frown turned into an easy smile. Pharos wasn't stupid; he would have weighed the risks before making a move this drastic. Even so it would be up to him to safeguard Nii-san; this wouldn't be over until he had completed his task for tonight.

He chuckled as he watched the white Persona offer its defeated foe as challenge to the full moon. There were few who would recognise the relevancy such an action.

The Persona threw its defeated opponent to the floor, watching it disappear in a plume of nothingness before it reverted back into Orpheus. He watched his brother gather himself before he started a confrontation with a couple of lesser Shadows. He knew his Nii-san hadn't taken up a sword in anger before, but watched as he, admittedly a bit clumsily, took out the two creatures out with the help of Orpheus. Obviously Minato had used skills gathered from his Dark Hour reading periods for this battle.

Idly the heir wondered if the blue-haired teen recognised his ability to absorb information from books for what it truly was.

He quelled his concern when his Nii-san collapsed; it was to be expected after all. Calling a Persona for the first time was draining. If you added in the drain from the metamorphosis, the physical drain from the combat afterwards, and the effect of the adrenaline leaving his system, it was amazing he'd lasted that long since his body wasn't prepared for it.

There was also a second reason for Nii-san falling unconscious; the old man would want another discussion with him now his Persona abilities had awoken.

He waited for his brother's dorm mates to get him inside before he prepared to make his move.

He removed a small metal object that was about the size of an ice hockey puck. The military division of Mochizuki Enterprises had been very proud of this little creation. For over a decade the Japanese Military had been contracting Mochizuki United Armouries to do research into the Electro Magnetic Pulse technologies. Since the world of warfare was progressively becoming more electronic based, it had been decided that troops would have a genuine advantage if they had some sort of ordinance that could take out enemy electronics without the need for a large bulky generator or setting off a nuclear bomb. The item in his hand was a prototype for a grenade which emitted a small EMP blast that would knock out electrical systems for a short period of time, including systems that had been shielded to work in the Dark Hour.

For example the security camera system in the dorms.

The situation was set and now this prototype would be getting a field test.

Pressing the button, he flung the device over the rooftop, watching it skip from its contract and land near the entrance to the stairwell. Unlike in the movies however, there was no flashy

lightning display. The only way the heir could tell that the device had worked was that the built-in light had gone silent.

He wasted no time, jumping across to the dorm roof, giving his scythe a quick flick so the blade locked into the combat position. He already had the next move planned, moving straight towards the stairwell as he landed, once in range he locked onto his target and released a mighty swing.

Damaging a Dark Hour shielded cable.

He relaxed as a grin lit his face, mockingly wishing good luck to the poor sod who was hired to get that working properly again. He moved over to the small object that had made this possible and picked it up with a chuckle. He had just depleted a prototype worth just over one hundred and twenty seven, million yen and frankly it was worth every single Rin.

Now to deal with the reason he was here.

He felt a swell of darkness emanating from the centre of the roof. Turning, he regarded the dark mist that congealed together into a mass. This was the remaining essence of the Arcana Shadow. If fate had remained on course this mass would have waited quietly before it was drawn to the main body within Arisato Minato. That would have been him. However his fate had been changed and now he would make sure that the fate this world had been given would be changed as well. The essence started to move towards him, seeming to consider him a perfect vessel for a second assault on the dorm members.

His grin turned feral as he reached into his pocket and drew out a tarot card, so the back of the card faced the approaching essence. How little it knew.

He turned the card to face the remains of the Shadow, the blank side glowed a brilliant white as the card's magic activated. He watched in wonder as the mist was drawn towards the face of the card, like it was the nozzle of a powerful vacuum cleaner. The whole process took about thirty seconds, and would have been quicker but the essence was struggling before the card released a blinding burst of light.

Once it was over Mochizuki Ryoji turned the face of the card towards him and found that he was looking at the Major Arcana card number one: The Magician.

He smirk lit his face; one down, eleven to go.

--

_Thursday, 9th of April 2009. DH:23_

He was once again surrounded by darkness, with the feeling of being pulled towards the velvet door once more. As expected, once he passed through the door and regained his senses, he was sitting in a chair facing an old man with a cane and a long nose.

He had returned to the Velvet Room.

"It's so nice to see you again," Igor greeted the returning guest. "You became unconscious after awakening to your 'power'. ...It's nothing to worry about, though. So, just relax. By the way... I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calling. That power is called a Persona... It is a manifestation of your psyche," the old man explained.

"Basically it's a materialisation of my soul," the blue haired teen replied.

"That's one way to look at things," the old man agreed before going into a full explanation. "However it may take some time for you to fully comprehend. A Persona is a facet of your Personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli... You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. That being said, your power is still weak..."

If that was weak he'd hate to see the effects of a strong Persona user. "You'd better explain."

"When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links--your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that," the old man emphasised.

The blue haired man nodded in reply. He wasn't sure why, but that sounded like a cheap plot device from a third rate video game designed in a way that was meant to enforce the message that friendships were a good thing. If he was going to create friendships here in Iwatodai, it would be because there was something he would want to form with that person. He wouldn't force himself to make friends because an old man that comes to him in his dreams tells him it's important.

"Now, then... Time marches on in your world." Hold on. If time marches on then how long had he been here? The last time he was here for a single night and that had left him tired. What would it be this time? "I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord," the old man foretold. "Until then... Farewell."

With that, once again, the room faded to darkness and Minato slept.

_Thursday, 16th of April 2009. DH:37_

The blue-haired teenager woke up to find himself in an unfamiliar bed, facing an unfamiliar ceiling... Not that the room in the dorm had been that familiar to begin with, but the roof wasn't off-white and the mattress had more give. He pushed himself upright and shook his head to clear the fog in his mind. The last thing he remembered was collapsing after the battle on the roof of the dorm, then speaking to the old man in the Velvet Room. As his senses cleared the haze, he finally started to take stock of the situation. It was obvious now that he was in a private hospital room and the green tint that bathed everything told him it was the Dark Hour.

He got to his feet, bare feet making contact with the cold floor as he made a move over to the wardrobe. He quickly opened it up to see that it included one set of his school uniform, a set of

casual clothes and what could only be described as a 'loud' shirt that he'd never seen before. He then changed his focus to the chest of drawers, hoping to find the item he was looking for in there. The first drawer contained his mp3 player, wallet, keys, the tie for his school uniform, his belt and some loose change. These were pretty much the items he carried around with him every day, all except the one item he was looking for now. He could only hope that it was still in the top draw of his desk back at the dorm. The second drawer down contained a few sets of undergarments, obviously his own, although he didn't like the idea of any of his dorm mates going through his underwear .

"If you're looking to check the time, you have about 9 minutes left before it's over." A voice called out from behind him, causing the teen to spin to face its origin. He was met by a silly grin from the person standing in the doorway. "Hello Nii-san."

Minato suppressed a groan, before replying to the greeting with a customary "What are you doing here?"

It wasn't that he didn't want to see his visitor; far from it in fact, but the presence of this man usually had trouble, accompanied by a four piece band, dancing on in behind it.

A pout was the expected response as the figure moved towards the chair by the side of his bed. "Aw, is that all I get after all these years?"

Well he had a point, he did deserve better. The silver eyed Persona user walked up to the person who was effectively his younger brother and delivered a light, yeah right, clip to the idiot's head.

"Oww," Minato smirked as he watched the idiot rub this head for a second, with a thoroughly put out look on his face, before finally giving in and wrapping his right arm around the visitor, tapping his back a couple of times in a 'manly' hug before backing away to sit on the bed.

"You never answered my question," the patient replied as he got himself comfortable.

"To check on you of course," the heir replied as his face turned serious. "Evoking your Persona for the first time is very draining, the fact you did so during a battle with a Shadow would only expedite the effects."

There was silence for a few moments before Minato finally asked the question that the heir was expecting, "You remember, don't you?"

That statement removed the normally over cheery look from the blue-haired teen. It took him a few moments before he reluctantly nodded his head. "I can't tell you."

"That bad, huh?" the patient asked with a weary smile on his face.

"It's worse than I expected," the heir admitted. "However, because we know what is meant to happen and what has already changed, we reckon, once we're done, fate can go swing."

"We?" So the idiot wasn't doing... who knows what on his own, he guessed that was some small comfort.

"I can't tell you," Ryoji stated again. "Let's just say that once we're done, we can meet up and have a little victory party. I would tell you but there are forces that will try and stop us if they were to find out. Sadly one of these is too close to you for it to be worth the risk."

"You'll at least tell me who's going to stab me in the back, though?"

"I can't tell you," the visitor once again replied with a chuckle and a big grin.

"What can you tell me?" Minato responded as he started to get more annoyed.

"Well getting involved with S.E.E.S. is probably the way to go," he advised. "Although each member has their own reasons for fighting, they all want this to end. Plus if you take that path you'll start to explore Tartarus, and the key to how this all started is there."

"Tartarus?"

"Well I could tell you... But to be honest you have to see it to truly understand." An enigmatic smile lit up the heir's face.

"Don't try to be mysterious Ryoji. You can't do it." A smirk danced on Minato's face as he climbed back into the bed.

It widened after seeing the pout on the idiot's face. "Aw Nii-san, that's mean."

Minato suddenly felt a surge of power.

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Death Arcana..._

A bond had been formed.

But in a way it had already been there for all this time.

"Any who," the idiot started as a cheerful edge returned to his voice. "I've been watching you while you've been out and I noticed that two girls keep coming to visit you. A hot redhead and a cute brunette."

"That'll be Mitsuru-Sempai and Yukari-san," he deduced. "They're my dorm mates."

"Ah, is that so," the silver-haired teen replied with a huge grin on his face. "I must say the brunette was quite charming. You reckon I should call her out for a date?"

"So you've moved from pranking to womanizing?" The patient chuckled at the huge grin on his brother's face. "Well good luck. With Yukari you'll need it."

"Hum, well, if she might not be receptive, I'll try my luck with the beautiful redhead. Mitsuru was it?"

The question was met with silence and a hard glare.

"Oh. Interested in her yourself, are you?" If the idiot grinned wider his face would split, and that was only if the blue-haired Persona user didn't beat him to the punch and finish him off first. However, the heir had his answer; his Nii-san was actually interested in a girl. "And here I thought you might be gay!"

Okay the idiot was going down. "Mitsuru-Sempai isn't stupid Ryoji... Well not stupid enough to go out with you." She wasn't stupid at all as far as he could gather. She was intelligent, witty, a fast thinker, had initiative, was beautiful... And completely beyond the scope of someone like him.

"Well," the heir stated as he got out of the seat next to the bed. "I guess I'll find out in two weeks once my transfer is completed."

A feeling of dread filled his bones. "Transfer?"

"Oh didn't I say?" The look of innocence just didn't work. "I'll be a junior at Gekkoukan High as soon as my tutors have passed over all the paperwork."

"Ryoji." A steel edge appeared in the lone silver eye that could lock onto the idiot.

"Anyway I'd best be off," the heir started as he moved to the door. "I have about two minutes to get out of here before I'll have to contend with the staff wondering what I'm doing here."

"Ryoji!" Called Minato as his silver-haired brother opened the door.

"See you Nii-san!" And with that the stupid idiot had gone.

Deciding that if he went back to sleep, he may wakeup to find out this had been a nightmare. The teen rested his head back on the pillow.

He was asleep before the clock started ticking again.

--

_Friday, 17th of April 2009. 18:37_

He had been tired. When he roused from his sleep, it was afternoon.

"You're awake...!" He turned his head to the side to see Takeba Yukari sitting by his bedside. "Um, how do you feel?"

"Where am I...? Minato asked as he moved into a sitting up position.

"Thank goodness. You finally came to..." She sighed in relief before going on the offensive. "How much sleep do you need!? It's been a whole week! ...I was so worried about you..."

There was a few seconds of silence before the brunette finally found something else to say.

"...Oh yeah, this is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. It's just a short walk from the station," the brunette explained. "The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with you. He said you were just exhausted... But, you kept sleeping and sleeping. You know how worried I was?"

"Um...Sorry?" The blue-haired teen edged backwards at the sudden aggression from his visitor.

"Um no... I'm the one who should be sorry... I couldn't do anything..." Yukari admitted with a touch on embarrassment. "Even though I was supposed to protect you, I... But, your power... It was amazing."

She didn't know the half of it... And from how things sounded, neither did he.

"I take it that you thought I was one of those things, the night we met?" An unobstructed silver eye locked onto amber as the teen nodded. "These Shadows... What are they?"

"The Shadows? They're what we're fighting against and the power you used... We call it 'Persona.'" Well that told him squat. "We'll explain everything later. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before..." There was a quick pause before the brunette decided say what she wanted to say. "I, uh... I wanted to tell you that... I'm sorta like you."

"What do you mean?" the bedridden teen asked.

She looked down at her hands. "My dad died in an accident when I was little... And my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms... You're all alone too, right? To be honest, I already know about your past... But, it didn't seem fair, so I wanted you to know about mine..." With that she started to explain her reasoning for being here. "It was back in '99... There was a big explosion in the area. Supposedly, my dad died in the blast, but nobody really knows what happened... He was working in a lab run by the Kirijo Group."

Well that made sense. "You're doing this to see if you can find anything out."

She nodded. "That's why I'm going to Gekkoukan High, and why I was there when this happened to you." She let out a self derisive laugh. "...Of course, I panicked and wasn't much help... It was my first time fighting them, too. I'm sorry... You wouldn't have to go through all this if I wasn't such a coward..."

He doubted it. Although the idiot had been tight lipped last night, there was one thing he was sure about: He was supposed to destroy that thing. "Don't worry about it," he reassured the brunette.

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks... but still..." She stopped, letting out a groan before continuing. "And here I am telling you all this the minute you wake up. While I was waiting, I thought to myself, 'I've been hiding so many things from him... As soon as he wakes up, I'll tell him the truth.' So, thanks for listening, I've wanted to share that story with someone for a long time."

"No problem." Well it wasn't like she'd given him a choice not to listen.

The sighed in relief as he guilt was somewhat eased. "...Alright, I'm gonna get going. I'll let the others know you woke up."

"Oh? Have you been the only one visiting?" Granted the idiot had already told him that Mitsuru had visited as well but he was still hoping that had only a nightmare.

"No," she admitted. "Mitsuru-Sempai has come a few times as well, probably wanting to apologise and try and explain everything. Akihiko-Sempai has popped in as well, and even Stupei found the time to come and visit."

"Well that's good to know." Ugh... that meant he had two weeks, if he was lucky, before chaos engulfed the school. As if this wasn't enough.

"Take it easy, okay? Be a good patient! And don't hesitate to call the nurse. I'm sure she'll take good care of you." With that the brunette moved towards the exit. "Bye."

With that Minato found himself once again in his own company. Getting up from the bed, he had a look over the small selection of books his visitors had left for him, looking over the selection before choosing one on Kendo. He recovered his mp3 player, cranked the volume up a couple of notches and settled himself for a night in.

--

_Saturday, 18th of April 2009. 07:37_

He quickly approached the gates. Although everything he needed had been at the hospital, the nurses hadn't exactly been in a rush to discharge him. Although many would have seen this as a valid excuse for playing hooky, he couldn't see himself doing that. After all he had enough to catch up on as it was. As he reached the gates he spotted Yukari leaning against the wall obviously waiting for someone.

As he suspected that someone ended up being him. "Mornin'. You seem to be doing pretty well."

"I feel better," the junior replied as they started walking towards the building.

"That's good to hear." She smiled before she turned more serious. "Hey, sorry to add this to your worries, but... Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today. Come to the 4th floor of the dorm after school, okay? Don't forget."

He nodded his response as they entered the school.

--

_Saturday, 18th of April 2009. 17:37_

Well, school had gone as well as he expected. He'd been flogged by members of his class asking what had happened, and when Junpei had asked him for the seventh time that day, he had just about reached breaking point. In fact that he almost told him that he and Yukari had a night of wild passionate monkey love and he'd spent the last 8 days in hospital recovering. It was only the fact that his friend had a mouth like a sieve, and the comment would get back to the brunette in question, that he kept his mouth shut. The outcome of that would probably be another hospital trip, only this time there was no telling how bad the damage would be.

Shame since the look on Junpei's face would have been priceless.

This was followed by a lecture with Ono-Sensei, which until they reached the Sengoku era wouldn't really be that useful. Shown by the fact that he had to pull Junpei's arse out of the fire and give him the answer to the question that Ono-Sensei had asked.

He'd excused himself from hanging out with Junpei before heading back to the dorm for this meeting.

He returned to find the lounge empty, realising that he'd have to meet everyone on the fourth floor before climbing the stairwell. Resisting the urge to make a quick stop at his room in order to destroy that camera.

Yukari was waiting for him on the fourth floor landing. "Oh! There you are!"

The cobalt haired teen nodded in greeting as the brunette held open the door for him. Mitsuru, the Chairman and an older teen that he would have to guess was Sanada Akihiko all sat around a table in the centre of the room.

"Ah, there you are. I'm glad that you're okay. The reason I asked you here is because I needed to talk to you. Please, have a seat." The scientist pointed to one of the available seats left around the table. Minato ended up taking one of the stools while Yukari took a seat on the couch opposite. "Oh, before that. I believe I mentioned him earlier, but this is Akihiko."

"How ya doing?" the boxer asked as he raised his arm in greeting, which was responded to with a slight nod of the head.

"Okay, I guess we can cut the preamble?" the Chairman asked.

"If you mean about the fact that for some unknown reason, this world has 25 hours in a day, then yes you can," the teen replied.

"Then we don't need to waste time on that," the boxer stated, leaving the Chairman fully put out. "Especially as that isn't what makes it so interesting... You saw those creatures. We call them 'Shadows'. They only appear during the dark hour and attack everyone who's not in a coffin." If that was the case where the hell had they been for the last eight/nine years? "It's our job to defeat them. ...Sounds exciting, huh?"

Okay chasing after creatures that only appear during an hour designed to make humans expend their strength at a faster rate... There were better things he could think of doing with his time.

"Akihiko!" the redhead snarled. "Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!"

There was silence for a few seconds as the boxer pulled at the collar of his uniform. Finally the boxer was saved as the Chairman interrupted, "Now, now. He does his work well."

The redhead intensified her glare for a few seconds, silently stating that this wasn't over before turning her gaze away from the boxer. The boxer breathed a sigh of relief for his temporary escape.

"Long story short, we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad or S.E.E.S. for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club..."

"Oh really?" the blue-haired junior cut in. "Does the school know of this?"

"Well no," the Chairman admitted as the stare from the new recruit intensified. "But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club advisor."

"A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; the victim becomes a living corpse," Mitsuru explained. "They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them."

"So let me get this straight," he tried to comprehend. "People suffering from Apathy Syndrome are actually soulless husks?"

"Indeed," the Chairman replied. "However, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour. Some may even awaken to a power that enables them to fight the Shadows. That's 'Persona', the power you used the other night. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users. Which means, in the end, it's all up to you guys."

"So where do I come into this?" The junior inquired.

The answer came from the redhead as she got up from her seat, opened the metal case that was on the table and moved it towards him. Inside was a silver handgun like the one he'd used that night and a red armband with the S.E.E.S. on it. "What he's trying to say is, we want you to join us," she explained. "We've prepared an Evoker for you. We'd like you to lend us your strength."

Minato let out a sigh, really there wasn't much of a choice. Although the idiot hadn't given him much to work on, he knew he needed to fight these things and he needed to find out about this Tartarus. "... Alright."

He watched the brunette opposite sigh in relief. "I was afraid you were going to say no," she explained as a bright smile lit up her face. "Welcome aboard!"

"Thank you so much. I'm really glad." The Chairman smiled before standing up. "Oh, I almost forgot... About your room assignment... Why don't you just stay here, in your current room? I don't know what the holdup is, but I guess it worked out in the end."

"It would have helped if it hadn't been a ruse for you to check me out," the blue-haired teen accused as his eyes locked onto the man in question.

"What's done is done... In a way, I guess it doesn't matter anymore." The brunette tried to mediate the situation.

Minato let it go as once again he felt a faint surge of power.

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana..._

He could feel a change inside him this time, almost as if Orpheus had reacted to it as well.

"Well, now that this is settled, I'll be on my way." The Chairman stood up.

"I'll show you out Mr. Chairman," Mitsuru stated as she followed the scientist to the door.

After a few minutes of chatting with the Yukari and Akihiko, procuring a belt and holster for his Evoker and the short sword he'd used on that night. Once that was sorted he excused himself for the night.

--

_Saturday, 18th of April 2009. DH:13_

"Hi, how are you?" Opening his eyes he saw that the white-haired child was sitting on the edge of his bed. The child gave a small sigh and then turned to the room's occupant with a sad smile on his face. "I'm glad to see you're safe after facing your first ordeal."

"Who are you?" Minato asked as he sat up in his bed.

"We've met before," the child replied, swinging his legs. "In fact we've known each other for a long time."

The child chuckled at the look of confusion on the teen's face before hopping off of the bed.

"Can I ask you a question?" the child asked, his face turned away from the teen on the bed. "Thanatos. You call him you're brother. Why?"

"Thanatos?" Minato queried.

"Oh I'm sorry. I'm using his old name," the child replied as he turned around. "You will know him as Mochizuki Ryoji, the one who escaped his fate."

"I sometimes wonder about that," the teen replied with a smile. "To be honest I guess it's because he was there for me when I needed him and for that I can't help but love him like a brother."

"So you don't need to be of the same source?" The child tilted his head, eyes shining with innocent curiosity.

"Sometimes it's the families we make that are the most important," he responded as he took a seat on his bed. "So I guess you're right."

"Hum..." He watched as the child seemed to contemplate something before shaking his head. "This won't do... I've gotten sidetracked. I see you have awakened to your power and what an interesting one it is too," the child continued as he stepped back. "A power that takes many forms, yet is bound by none... It will prove to be your salvation, depending on how things go."

"How things go?" The teen watched as the child realised he may have said too much before he heard what was becoming a familiar response.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. It would be against the rules." A sad smile lit up the child's bland features as he moved back into the Shadows. "Do you remember when we first met? I expect you to honour your commitment. "

"The contract." It wasn't a question.

"The contract you signed grants you a good amount of freedom to work with, so please be sure make good use of it and don't let fate drag you on a course you wouldn't wish to travel." With that the child started to fade into the Shadows. "I'll be watching over you, even if you forget about me... Okay then, see you later."

And Arisato Minato was alone again.

--

_Sunday, 19th of April 2009. 19:57_

After everything that had happened yesterday, Minato had decided it would be best to have a sleep in. After getting up after eleven, he checked over the equipment he'd received the night before, and once satisfied he pulled the book on kendo from his desk, slipping into his chair and

flipping back to the page he had been reading. Twice during the next two pages his attention was diverted to the short sword he'd placed on his bed. He kept reading the book for two more pages before finally giving up.

He place the book down on his desk, the pages facing upwards so he could still browse over in case he needed to look up something, before rising from his seat and moving over to the bed. He picked up the sheathed sword, drawing the blade before dropping the sheath back onto his desk. During the battle with the two lesser Shadows he had relied on his instincts to see him through, having to resort to the Evoker both times in order to finish off his foe.

Maybe it was time to backup his instincts with some actual knowledge.

He spent about ten minutes trying different stances that could be used with one handed swords and found that none of the stances he tried felt comfortable. He ended up relaxing back into the stance he had used during the battle with the Shadows. Technically it was awful. His left foot was slightly in front of the right, with his body set so his sword arm was at the rear. It offered no protection as the extra distance needed to get the sword arm in place would decrease the chance of a successful block. Thinking back though, when the Shadow had made its assault, he hadn't even attempted a block. Maybe that was the key; maybe he didn't need to change any flaws in how he fought after all.

Maybe the best idea was figuring out ways of making his flaws into traps.

Making a quick mental note to dig up some books on combat strategy and to have a look at the sports clubs in school to see which one would be the most useful, he started to try out some simple slashes he'd picked up and hope he wouldn't damage anything in the process.

If the members of this dorm were all members of S.E.E.S. and as such were meant to fight Shadows, why didn't this dorm have any sort of practice facilities?

He wasn't sure how long he had been at it but he stopped as he heard a knock at the door. He quickly stowed the blade back in its sheath and piled the equipment he had out into his wardrobe before answering the door.

"Hey," Yukari greeted from the other side. "Can you come down stairs for a minute?"

The slightly sweaty blue-haired teen nodded before he grabbed his keys and followed the brunette down to the entrance.

"Okay sempai, he's here now," the brunette called as they reached the bottom of the step. "So what's all this about?"

"Hey," The boxer greeted the blue-haired junior, checking out his condition before asking, "You've been training?"

"Not exactly, just trying to get a better feel for things," he replied. "I couldn't really train in there without breaking something."

"Heh, well I can see how that'd be a problem." The boxer then turned the subject back on track. "Anyway, there's someone I want to introduce." The boxer pushed open the door. "Hey hurry up."

"Hold your horses," A familiar voice called from outside. "This is freaking heavy."

As Junpei entered the dorm, dragging a heavy looking case with him, the look on Yukari's face was priceless. "J-Junpei!? ...Why is HE here!? Wait, don't tell me...!"

He wasn't sure if Akihiko was oblivious to the girl's distress or was just ignored it as he started introductions. "This is Iori Junpei from class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today."

The junior removed his baseball cap, while he scratched his head, putting it back with a chuckle he finally spoke. "Wazzup?"

"He's staying HERE!? You've got to be kidding me!" Yukari nearly screamed as she pointed her finger towards the offending student.

"I bumped into him the other night. He has the potential, but he just awakened to it recently..." The boxer explained. "I told him about us, and he agreed to help."

"You have the potential!?" the brunette yelled with look of disbelief. "For real!?"

"He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins." The larger of the juniors started to explain with a touch of embarrassment. "I don't remember much, but... man, that's embarrassing! He said that's, ya know, completely normal... in the beginning. Like, bein' confused and not remembering anything. Did ya guys know that?"

"I didn't really go through that," Minato admitted.

"Dude, seriously? It happens to everyone else. ...But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys. I had no idea." Well that was sort of the point. "I'm glad I'm not the only one. It could get kinda lonely, ya know. I bet you're stoked too, right!? Havin' me join..."

"Huh? Uh, y-yeah..." She would have been more convincing if she hadn't stuttered.

"Good to have you on board Junpei," the blue-haired man said, privately glad that it wasn't even twenty four hours and he wasn't the newest member anymore.

"Well, enough with the introductions. I think we're about ready..." Akihiko started.

"Ooh, we're gonna go do something? Sweetness!" Junpei cut in.

"With this many people, we can start exploring that place," the boxer finished.

"You mean... Tartarus...?" The brunette asked.

Tartarus...

Oh Hell's teeth!

**End of Chapter 3**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Completed with editing from Vocarin

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Well you know, I've follow the theory that you can pick out a lot about your audience just by browsing through the reviews they leave behind. Let's just say that the focal points for chapter three seem to be, characterisation, expensive prototype technology, speculation that Ryoji has an army armed with anti-Shadow weapons preparing to descend upon Iwatodai and to quote something that's already been mangled out of context, 'passionate monkey sex'.

Also to answer a worry about the speed of the main pairing in this. It's going to take a while, Mitsuru has family caused issues that would stop her from pursuing such a relationship and Minato have to get over the fact that she seems to be well out of his league. Plus I'm going to be a bit busy figuring out how the hell I'm going to twist all the other romantic social links to something more plutonic without losing any of the stories behind them.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 4: **

_Monday, 20th of April 2009. 12:47_

Fortunately the morning lesson had been history with Ono-sensei; as such he didn't have to worry too much about what was actually said during the lecture. After all, everyone usually had to rely on their textbooks anyway.

It allowed him to contemplate Tartarus.

Not that he actually knew much about it in the first place. All he knew was it was somewhere that Ryoji needed him to go, and that meant that somehow trouble wouldn't be that far behind... Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. After all he didn't even know what sort of place Tartarus was, its location or what was inside. Maybe his paranoia was getting the best of him...

Yeah right.

He'd taken a quick trip down to the sports section to see if he could use Akihiko's advice about using a school club to train. As it turned out three teams were about to open their doors to new recruits: the swimming team, the track team and the kendo team. After having a quick chat with the instructors, which led to a bitter argument between the track and swimming coaches, he excused himself and headed back to the homeroom.

He pretty much ruled out swimming team, although the sport would help improve his stamina. He had lived with the Dark Hour for years and this had caused him to become efficient with his actions. There was a chance that, because his stamina would be increasing as the result of extra effort, he would start to unconsciously use a greater effort elsewhere and in the end what he gained would just equal what he had lost. In the end he decided that building up his stamina should be done gradually during the Dark Hour. The killing blow however was the fact that swimming wouldn't help him in his search for ways to shore up holes in his combat technique.

The track team ended up coming a close second. The activities would help him develop the ability to make rapid movements... It's a shame that it wasn't really the right form of rapid that he required. Track team would teach him to sprint fast and jump high or long, but it wouldn't cover the lightning reflexes he'd need for close range evasion.

That left kendo, which to be honest was probably the best choice as it would teach the teen an actual sword fighting style. Granted it would be completely different from the one that he was using to face the Shadows, but he was sure there were aspects that he would be able to learn and apply with a one-handed blade. There was also the fact that there could be times where he could use a two handed sword in combat against Shadows. Also, sparring would help him develop the reflexes that the track team wouldn't.

In a way he was glad that the kyudo team wasn't taking new members. Although kyudo would have been useful, there was a chance that it would have given Yukari ideas, which weren't really true.

Once he'd got back into the homeroom it didn't take long for Junpei to come over and start telling his latest dirty joke or for Yukari to come over and start berating 'Stupei', a nickname he found amusing and sadly quite apt, for wasting the blue-haired teen's time.

The gentle roar of chatting students suddenly fell silent as the sliding door opened and Kirijo Mitsuru entered the homeroom. The redhead barely glanced around; locking onto the trio she had been searching for, before she walked up to Minato's desk.

"Can I have a minute?" She seemed to only wait for the blue-haired teen to give, what was becoming a usual, nod of affirmation before continuing. "Come to the lounge when you get back to the dorm. I have something to tell everyone."

"Oh, are we having that talk?" the larger of the two male juniors's asked.

The redhead seemed to regard the black-haired junior before turning her attention back to Minato and Yukari. "I'll save the details for later. See you there." What a slight nod she left.

"Wow..." Junpei muttered as he turned to the blue-haired teen. "She didn't waste any time leaving."

"She's probably busy with things like Student Council, unlike us." The brunette replied, watching the redhead leave with a look of discontent.

"Whoa, Yuka-Tan!" The black-haired teen replied. "Do I sense some hostility?"

You'd have to be dumb, deaf and blind to miss it, and even then you'd still pick up the negativity.

"Well, it's not that I don't like her... She's just..." Yukari tried to explain.

"It's probably the fact she's the heiress to a large, rich, family run company." A silver eye locked on the door she'd left by as its owner waded into the speculation. "I'd suspect that there are a few issues there, which would cause her to keep her guard up."

"Heh, I bet that the politics would be enough to make normal people like us run for the hills" The other male added.

They had no bloody idea.

--

_Monday, 20th of April 2009. 18:14_

He'd walked home with both Yukari and Junpei; after all they were all to attend this meeting so there was no real point of heading back separately. Once they reached the command room they noted that the Chairman, Mitsuru and Akihiko were already there, waiting for them.

The chairman stood up in greeting before ushering them to take a seat. "Okay, everybody's here. I'd like your undivided attention."

If he started off with a bad pun, he'd get an undivided sword placed somewhere unpleasant.

"For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had." the chairman explained, unwittingly saving himself from an uncomfortable end. "But, that number recently jumped to five. Therefore... Starting tonight at 12:00AM, I'd like to commence the exploration of Tartarus."

"Sorry..." Junpei interrupted before asking a question that had been on Minato's mind as well. "I asked this yesterday, but what's this Tartarus thing again?"

"You haven't seen it, Junpei?" The brunette asked with a look of surprise on her face.

"It's no surprise really," the Chairman stated at the look of confusion on Junpei's face. "Since it only appears during the Dark Hour."

Okay a place that only appeared during the Dark Hour... This could be the trouble he'd been expecting.

"Just like the Shadows... Interesting, huh?" Akihiko added. "And it's the perfect place for us to train. You can think of it as a Shadow nest."

"Whoa... Their nest, huh...?" the black-haired teen replied a look of excitement on his face.

A Shadow Nest... Change that speculation of trouble to what seemed to be a full guarantee.

"But, Senpai... what about your injury?" the brunette asked with a touch of concern.

"Since Akihiko hasn't fully recovered yet, he'll only come as far as the entrance," the redhead replied before the boxer could say anything, the glare she shot his way stating that there would be no argument.

The boxer simply let out a sigh before commenting. "...Yeah, I know." His expression told everyone that he had wanted to finish that last sentence with: 'This sucks.'

"Well, I'm sure he won't complain, as long as you don't go too far in," the Chairman assured. "Since we're dealing with Shadows, Tartarus isn't something we can avoid."

He watched as Junpei rose from his seat, a confident smirk on his face. "Relax; I've got your backs."

Obviously it was supposed to sound cool and invoke some confidence in the teen.

Yukari's "I'm not so sure about this..." Pretty much summed it up.

There was silence as everyone let the newest rookie sweat before Mitsuru finally showed pity by moving the subject on.

"What about you, Mr. Chairman?" the redhead asked.

"I'll stay here." The Chairman replied. "As you know, I can't summon a Persona..."

Why wasn't Minato surprised?

--

_Monday, 20th of April 2009. 23:59_

When the group approached the closed gates of Gekkoukan High School, Minato was surprised to say the least, although it didn't really show through his mask of indifference. That wasn't the case with someone like Junpei who wore his emotions on his sleeve.

"This is-is? THIS is the place?" The teen gestured wildly towards the school building. "Why HERE?"

That was a very good question.

"Just wait a few minutes... It's almost midnight," Akihiko stated as he pulled out his cell phone, watching for the time to hit midnight.

Once it did as expected, a green tint lit everything up, water turned to the colour of blood and Akihiko's cell phone went dead.

What he wasn't expecting, however was for the school to start growing, twisting itself together, in ways that the teen would have considered impossible, into a form completely unrecognisable as it rose towards the moonlight. As he watched, his unobscured eyebrow rose at the spectacle and he was pretty confident his mask wouldn't be able to cover the surprise this time.

"This is Tartarus," Mitsuru stated the obvious. "The labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour."

Junpei aptly summed it up. "Labyrinth...? What are you talking about!?" He started to gesture wildly towards the newly appeared structure. "What the fuck happened to our school!?"

"Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal," Mitsuru assured as she reached into her pocket, obviously searching for the key to the school gate.

Hum, maybe this explained why half the faculty seemed to be... eccentric at the best of times.

"This is the "nest" you were talking about!?" the baseball-capped teen asked the boxer. "But, why!? Why'd our school turn into a giant tower!?"

Although the question was valid, the silence was palpable.

The taller junior took this silence as an admission of not knowing. "You don't know, either?"

The blue-haired teen had learned to look more into things, and the way the usually headstrong heiress couldn't bring herself to look at anyone, on top of the boxer's discomfort, clued him into the fact that they knew more than they were letting on...

Oh sod, here we go again. Minato wasn't sure he'd let himself be put through this if he didn't find the redhead attractive... Oh hell, the idiot _had_ put ideas in his head.

"I'm sure it's complicated," the brunette stepped in. "Who cares anyway? It's not like it would change our minds about fighting."

There was that.

'_We're more attuned. There is something behind it, something terrible that I can't remember. We're like this because we'll be involved in how this will end'_

"Well, maybe now we'll find out," the boxer concluded. "Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek; this will be our first time exploring it. Exciting, isn't it? There has to be some sort of clue in here about the Dark Hour..."

"Akihiko," the redhead mercilessly derailed the silver-haired senior. "I respect your enthusiasm, but you won't be accompanying us today."

"I know..." The boxer could only sigh. "You don't have to remind me."

"Sorry to interrupt," the blue-haired teen intervened. "But I really don't want to know what happens to someone if they don't leave before the Dark hour ends."

A shiver ran through the group before they headed towards the entrance.

--

_Monday, 20th of April 2009. DH:03_

To say the former Appriser was furious would be an understatement. The heir stormed into the secret Shadow research facility that stood in a small settlement about twenty miles from the edge of Iwatodai. Humanity's ingenuity was one of things he adored about them. That being said he wished they would stop trying to play god.

He couldn't stop the slight smile, which ruined his look of discontent, when he saw his advisor waiting for him with a similar look of annoyance on his face. "Hiroshi-San."

"Mochizuki-Sama," the advisor replied as he was picked up in the teen's wake. "I'm sorry. I sent you a message as soon as I..."

"This isn't your fault," the heir calmed his advisor. "This is mine. I should have known that they wouldn't listen."

"That doesn't excuse them," the advisor replied. "Your grandfather's stance on this was very clear. He expressly forbade any of the family companies from replicating anymore of the anti-Shadow technology after they created two time pieces you needed."

Two members of security stopped the approaching men, the scowl that appeared on the heir face causing them to take a step back. "If you value your jobs you will get out of our way."

"Mochizuki-Sama!" a voice called out behind them.

The heir turned to see a female attendant rushing towards them carrying his scythe and his black belt, which held his Evoker. Allowing his features to relax he shot the attendant a genuine smile. "Thank you."

"Mochizuki-Sama," the advisor looked at the weapons wearily. "Why do you need those?"

"Because if she goes berserk after awakening, I'm the only one within twenty five to thirty miles who has a chance of stopping her," the teen snapped causing the advisor to take a step back. "... I'm sorry."

"Mochizuki-Sama...?" The old man place a comforting should on his charge's shoulder.

"Nii-San will be in Tartarus by now," the blue-eyed teen admitted.

There was silence after that.

--

_Monday, 20th of April 2009. DH:07_

The five teenagers entered through the doorway and into the first floor of the tower, the two seniors leading the way before they stopped the group in front of the staircase leading to the next floor.

"Whoa... It's just as cool on the inside..." Junpei whistled as he adjusted the belt that kept his imitation katana swung across his back.

"But, it sure is creepy..." Yukari added as she slipped a three-fingered glove on her drawing hand before checking the state of her practice bow.

"This is only the entrance," Mitsuru explained as she moved over to a motorcycle, checking a few pieces of equipment. "The labyrinth lies beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs."

"First, we'll have you three get a feel for this place," Akihiko explained. "Why don't you go have a look around?"

"What!? By ourselves!?" the brunette exclaimed.

"We're not asking you to go very far, and I'll be feeding you information from here," the redhead stated from her motorcycle.

"So, you two didn't plan on coming in the first place?" the taller of the two male juniors asked suddenly feeling nervous.

"That's right," the boxer confirmed. "We're also going to appoint a leader to make any necessary decisions."

"For real? ...One of us?" It took a second to sink in before the baseball-capped started to bounce on his heels like an over-excited kid. "Oh! Oh! Me, me, me! Pick me!"

The blue-haired teen held back a groan, sensing that his friend's antics wouldn't help his case. By all rights superiority should be given to Yukari. After all she'd been a member longer than the other two explorers.

The boxer watched the teen's antics for a second, an unreadable look on his face before turning to look at Minato. "...You're in charge."

Err... Repeat that again.

"W-Wait! Why him!? He doesn't look like a leader!" Junpei protested.

Oh... Thanks for that.

"But, he HAS fought them before..." the brunette spoke up.

This caused the black-haired teen to stop his mini tantrum. "Seriously?"

"That's true, but there's another reason. You two..." The boxer drew his Evoker and pointed it at his head. "Can you summon your Persona without any difficulties, like he can?"

Well to be fair the time he had evoked his Persona he'd fallen unconscious as a result.

"Y-Yeah, of course I can!" Junpei replied, his stutter not being much help in convincing anyone.

Yukari was a bit more honest. "I think so."

The silver-haired teen lowered the Evoker to his side. "These are Shadows we're talking about here. Without your Persona, you're screwed," he clarified his point.

"I'm aware of that," the brunette replied, a touch of worry still in her voice. Minato had stopped paying attention however.

The velvet-coloured door to his left distracted him.

'_Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord.'_

"Arisato?" the redhead addressed the blue-haired teen as he moved towards the door.

The teen didn't really pick up Mitsuru's call as he put his hand on the handle of the door, feeling the velvet key in his pocket start to hum as he opened the door with a flash of bright light.

This was the first time he had actually entered the room and not woken up already in his seat. As such he noticed some things about the room he hadn't before. First of which was the fact that this wasn't really a room but an elevator. He also noted that to each side of the table were a couple pieces of furniture covered with drapes. The final thing he's noticed was the golden lever behind Elizabeth, obviously the controls to the place.

"I've been waiting for you," Igor greeted as the visitor made his way over to the vacant seat. "The time has come for you to wield your power. The tower that you are about to venture into... How did it come to be? For what purpose does it exist?"

The teen took the seat before noting in his head that if he knew the answers to what the old man was asking, he wouldn't be here.

"Regrettably, you are not yet capable of answering these questions." No Shit Sherlock. "That is why you must be made aware of the nature of your power."

"About that door..." the visitor inquired.

"It will bring you here, although no one but you can see it," the old man replied before continuing on. "Your power is unique. It's like the number zero... It's empty, but at the same time holds infinite possibilities. You, my boy, are able to possess multiple Personas, and summon them as needed."

"So I can adapt to situations as needed," the cobalt haired teen extrapolated.

"Indeed. You will also find that when you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you. There may be times when they are difficult to grasp... But, do not fear. Seize what you have earned. Your power will grow accordingly... Be sure to keep that in mind." The old man let out an eerie smile before he started to wrap things up. "My spare time will soon be scarce. But, please come again of your own accord. I'll tell you then about my true role... the manner in which I can best assist you. Until then... Farewell."

There was another flash of light and Minato found himself once again facing a velvet door.

"Arisato?" A hand rested on his shoulder, giving him a light shake. "Are you alright?"

Quite frankly he was a bit put out to find that the hand belonged to Junpei.

"Yeah, what's up? You look like a zombie," said junior checked.

"I'm alright." The blue-haired teen watched as both of the female members breathed sighs of relief. Realising that he couldn't really think of a valid reason to be staring at a bit of wall, he gave a pretty generic response. "I guess I just zoned out there."

"Dude, you're supposed to be our leader," the other male junior stated with a sigh. "Get your head in the game!"

A silver eye lit up as a smirk came to his face. "You just want me to send you out there to hit some home runs."

"Hell yeah, dude!" The trademark silly grin came out in full glory.

"Well, try to not get run out at first base." Tapping the figure on the shoulder he moved slightly towards the steps. He wasn't sure what sort of leader he would be, but there was only one way to find out. "Okay, let's get this over with."

--

_Monday, 20th of April 2009. DH:14_

"Who's in charge here?!" Mochizuki Ryoji shouted as he slammed his way through the doorway into the main lab.

A small group of scientists turned from what they were walking on to regard the incoming nuisance. "Well whoever you think you are you can..." One of the scientists responded before he realised just who he was talking to. "Mochizuki-Sama!"

The other two scientists backed away at the look of fury the heir's face.

"I just want to know one thing," the former Appriser started to ask. "How did you think that you were going to get away with following this line of research when Ojii-Sama expressly forbade it?"

The lead scientist, seemingly oblivious to the vibes his companions had picked up, replied to the heir with a smug bravado. "Well we have special permission from the board to..."

"The board don't have the right to override Ojii-Sama's decision!" Ryoji yelled. "This isn't our technology; we have no right be even doing this."

"But..."

"This ends now." Blue eyes locked on, just begging for the idiot in front of him to argue back.

At times like this he wished Nii-San was here. Nii-San wouldn't have blown a top. He would have calmly grilled these morons, all the while psyching them out with that certain flair only he could do, before moving in for a killer move that would leave none left in his path.

"But we just finished testing operations during the Dark Hour!" one of the other scientists joined the fray. "With this success all we have to do is install the Papillion Heart and..."

Silence filled the room.

Suddenly the fury left the heir, leaving an incredibly tired teen behind. "When did you get the chance to make a Papillion Heart?"

"Err... We didn't," the lead scientist admitted.

"Explain." Maybe it would be best to harvest these souls now.

"Specimen X5-11W-42 was discovered in storage at the underground military facility under Iwatodai." The scientist who had leaked the information admitted. "All accounts lead us to believe that the body was destroyed or it malfunctioned before it could be installed."

"You stole a Papillion Heart from the Kirijo Group." It was a statement. "Do you even know if it is stable?"

"All tests we have conducted show it should be stable," the lead scientist proudly stated.

"Right. From now on nothing happens without the express say so from either Ojii-Sama or me. If you've been stupid enough to put any markings on the body, I want them removed," the heir demanded. "Take me to the heart."

He was eventually led to an isolated area, through two levels of sterilisation before coming up to what he had been afraid of seeing. In a specially isolated case in front of him was one of the most amazing devices that the Kirijo Group had ever made... and one of the most terrifying.

"I'm so sorry," the heir muttered as he read the designation plague below the device.

METIS

--

_Monday, 20th of April 2009. DH:18_

When they had entered the door at the top of the stairs there had been a flash of light, and when their senses returned the trio had found themselves at the end of a corridor.

"So, this is it, huh...?" Junpei asked, as if either of the other two knew the answer.

"I hope I don't get lost..." Yukari muttered as she slipped an arrow out of her quiver.

"Can you all hear me?" They heard a voice broadcast into the transceivers they had attached to their wrists.

"Whoa!" Junpei jumped. "Is that you Sempai?"

"I'll be providing audio backup from here on out," the redhead announced.

"Wait... Ya mean... You can see inside here?" the teen wielding the katana asked.

"It's my Persona's ability," she explained. "I'd like to join you, but the structure of Tartarus changes from day to day. That's why outside support is imperative."

"Well, THAT makes me feel a whole lot better..." Yukari muttered.

"So I take it that's what all that equipment is for?" the cobalt haired teen asked as he quickly scanned the surroundings.

"Indeed. Penthesilea is more battle-orientated than what would be ideal for analysis," the teen admitted. "However since she is all that we have, we need to compensate for her inadequacies."

"Alright," the leader replied.

"Now, based on your current location, you can expect to encounter enemies at any minute," the redhead informed the trio.

"Left branch of the next junction, a bit away from us," the leader muttered without realising it.

"What? ..." the redhead asked as she checked her equipment to validate the mutterings. "That's pretty accurate. How are you...?"

"I'm not sure," the teen admitted. "I've always sensed an uneasiness about the Dark Hour; it seems to be more defined here."

"Give me a moment, I want to try something," the redhead disconnected as she started to fiddle with her equipment.

"What are you thinking?" the silver haired boxer asked as he took a seat on the lower stairs.

"If I'm right, Arisato is detecting the Shadows," the redhead explained. "If that is the case then he may have latent psychic abilities."

"Heh, he's a wild card that one," the teen replied with a look of respect.

Not realising that he'd unwittingly spoken the truth.

"Sorry for the wait," the redhead told the explorers as she re-established the connection. "I'm going to audio only; however the info on the screen should be useful."

Akihiko turned on his transceiver to see a floor layout with a red dot on it. "How did you...?"

"I can use Arisato as a focal point," the redhead explained. "He's like a beacon; it will take a lot less effort for me to lock onto his position so I focus more on what is surrounding them. In fact it may even allow us to reach higher than I anticipated."

"I don't get it," the voice of Junpei stated, cluing them in on the fact they'd left the connection open.

"Think of it this way," the voice belonging to the topic of conversation cut in. "Imagine that there are a group of people who have lost out at sea. Normally if you were out searching for them in a rescue helicopter, you'd have to scan the entire patch of ocean in order to locate them and once you had you may not be able to provide much assistance before you had to return to refuel. Well I think that is how Mitsuru-Sempai's ability would work normally."

"Alright I'm following you," the brunette nodded for the teen to continue.

"Now imagine if one of those people had an emergency beacon that the helicopter could lock onto. It would take the helicopter less time to find them and as such could provide a greater level of support before it had to leave." A thought suddenly came to the teen's head. "I take it that this means that support will start to diminish once we get higher?"

"I'm afraid so," the redhead admitted. "Although now that I have something to work with, I can see if there is a way to extend what limited capabilities Penthesilea has."

"Don't push her too hard," Minato gave a quick warning. "They are a part of our souls after all. So pushing her could have an impact on you."

"Anyway..." the black-haired member interrupted propping himself against his katana, "can we stop the lesson and kill something."

"Of course," the redhead responded as they returned to the task at hand. "The Shadows in that group shouldn't be too tough, but proceed with caution. Practice makes perfect."

"Got it," Yukari replied. She waited for the audio connection to drop before carrying on. "Why is she always like that...?"

"Heh. That's what you get with academics." Junpei shrugged. "What can you do?"

A lone silver eye glared at him. "Careful what you're saying. I'm considered an academic."

"That's the problem." A grin appeared on the black-haired teen's face. "Seriously dude, if you're gonna flirt at least do it like a normal person."

The look on their leader's face was priceless. "I wasn't flirting," he finally answered before his unobstructed eye narrowed. "In fact I helping you out you ungrateful idiot."

"Anyway, our glorious leader," Junpei ignored the counterattack, taking a quick peek around the corner. "How'd you want to sort out this guy?"

"Hum..." Minato quickly assessed the foe before giving a reply. "Ok, we wait for it to head the other way. I'll move in first and draw its attention, Yukari will launch an attack once its back is turned and then you're up Junpei."

"Heh, leading the charge are you?" the other male replied with a bitter tone.

"He's giving you the kill Stupei!" Yukari defended.

"Oh right," Junpei replied, looking appropriately mollified. "You really think it'll take all three of us to kill it?"

"Do you want to see the results if we gamble on two of us being able to take it out and fail?" the leader asked.

"I see your point," the other teen admitted as he prepared his katana.

"Okay, it's turned," Yukari pointed out.

After a moment to prepare, the leader rushed the Shadow, with sword in hand.

The Shadow didn't notice the attack until the last moment, and by then it was too late to fully dodge the swift strike the blue-haired teen had launched. The end result was the one of its hands had been severed; Minato didn't take time to enjoy his success as he made a quick evasion to the left slightly further down the corridor. With the Shadow now turned to face its attacker, Yukari released an arrow, which lodged itself in the Shadow's back causing it to howl in pain. Junpei moved in to give the final blow, ending the howl with a swing that looked to be more at home on a baseball field.

The cobalt haired teen let a small smile light his face as he gave his short sword a quick flick to get rid of the Shadow gunk, even though it vaporised off his blade.

That went well.

"What do ya know?" Junpei started as the trio regrouped. "It did take all three of us."

"Well at least we know that we can kill these things without summoning our Personas," Yukari stated.

"True," Minato noted. "We'd best move on."

"Tres bien," Mitsuru congratulated over the transceiver. "Now, we should work towards eliminating all the Shadows wandering around on this floor before calling it a night."

"We've got that Sempai," Yukari responded as the group started moving forward again.

The second batch of Shadows numbered two and had just turned towards the group as they came around the corner. This was a more standard fight.

"Arisato, I want to try something," Mitsuru stated as the teen avoided a strike. "I want you to concentrate on one of the Shadows. If this works I'll be able to do a detailed scan and give you some useful information."

"Alright," Minato replied as he watched Junpei swing at the other Shadow, which had moved to engage the teen and Yukari.

It took a few moments but Mitsuru came through. "It's weak against fire. Use agi skills."

No sooner than she had said this than the short sword was in a reverse grip in his off hand and the Evoker had been drawn and fired. Orpheus followed his master's bidding, pulling out his harp, playing a small tune that gathered the magic needed before finally releasing it in a burst of flames. The Shadow slumped, giving the teen enough him to casually move over and deliver a coup de grace.

By the time he was finished Junpei and Yukari were done.

"You okay?" he addressed the two.

"Ah I'm fine." Junpei stated rubbing his arm. "It was just a scratch."

"Just a scratch?" Yukari remarked as she moved over to him. "Yeah right." After realising that the Stupei was actually injured, she drew her Evoker, held it in both hands and, while it was pointed at her forehead, fired.

Minato saw Io for the first time as the Persona cured Junpei's wounds.

"Thanks Yuka-tan," The black-haired fighter smiled before they started moving again.

"There should be a staircase nearby. Do you see it?" Mitsuru came over the transceivers. "A staircase is the only way to proceed to the next floor. I can't allow you to go any higher today, but please remember about it next time."

"We've got that Sempai," Yukari replied as they took another turn.

Minato stopped them as they now noticed a group of three Shadows patrolling this corridor.

"Heh. It's like they're multiplying," Junpei remarked.

As the turned away Minato moved into the middle of the corridor and used his Evoker.

The first two were down before they even knew what was happening, the third one suffered from a three man tag team as once again the trio concentrated their attacks on the last one standing. With two left Junpei pulled out his Evoker and used it to summon Hermes, the Persona simply made a gesture and one of the Shadows left erupted in a ball of fire and Shadow mist. An arrow from the brunette killed off the last of the Shadows before it could recover.

"Whew." Yukari drew in a deep breath and adjusted her glove. "How do you make this look so easy?" she asked Minato, only to receive a shrug.

"Hey guys, look at this," Junpei beckoned them over. In the place they had defeated the last batch of Shadows hovered a tarot card. "I tried touching it but... nothing," the teen demonstrated.

"Weird," Yukari commented as she tried as well.

When Minato approached they split into three different cards.

"Heh, it needed your special touch again, eh?" Junpei joked as he went to have a look at the face side. "What the...? These are double backed!"

They weren't. Minato could see the faces since the cards had split, there was a sword, a coin and a picture of what he could only guess was a Persona. He watched as the cards turned to show their backs and then started to shuffle around.

'_When you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you.'_

He kept his eyes on the picture card the whole time and once they had settled he touched it.

To the others it looked like the card turned into an orb of light and hit the teen in the chest, Minato however felt the Persona Apsaras settle itself into a place within his soul.

"Minato-Kun!" Yukari exclaimed as the leader staggered for a second.

"I'm alright," the leader reassured. "I think I know what happened back at the first floor though."

After being forced to take a quick breather by the other two they continued onwards.

"Be careful, the next group seems bigger," Mitsuru announced. "It would be wise to make sure you're healed up before proceeding."

"Yukari, if you'd please."

"Hai, hai," the brunette responded as she summoned Io to cure up the entire party this time.

"This could be trouble," Junpei stated as he poked his head around the corner. As the blue-haired teen looked he understood why.

There were four of them.

"Alright here's the plan," their leader started. "Junpei and I will knock them down with fire spells. Yukari, you're on healing duty."

"Got ya," the brunette replied as she prepared.

As the group of four Shadows was at the other end of the corridor, the trio struck immediately. Minato and Junpei wasted no time in summon their Personas, Orpheus and Hermes causing two of the four to burst with flames, keeping them occupied. The other two, having seen the threat, started to charge. Yukari notched an arrow preparing to try and cause one of the last two to falter and hence lower the amount of healing required. It wasn't necessary however, for as soon as the Personas had vanished the trigger was pushed again causing the charges to fail as the Shadows were engulfed in flame.

"Hey Minato! This looks like time for an all out attack!" the katana wielding teen suggested. After seeing the nod from the leader, a grin appeared on his face as he charged in. "Get back here you son of a bitch!"

It was a complete waste of energy but even Minato had to agree that the three of them rushing the prone Shadows and starting an all out brawl was great fun. Even Yukari had rushed in to join the fray, although he would never figure out just how a bow could do some of the melee damage she'd inflicted.

After a few seconds watching the Shadows vaporise before she let out a laugh. "Ha, ha, ha, I didn't think that would have worked."

The baseball-capped teen let out a chuckle. "I surprise myself sometimes."

"Good job everyone," the redhead's voice came over the transceiver. "...That's odd. Usually, there are more Shadows on the prowl. ...Well, at least you gained some experience in battle."

"Hold on sempai," the brunette interrupted as their leader once again touched the hovering card that had been left behind by defeated Shadows. "Minato-kun!"

"I'm alright," the teen replied as he watched the cards shuffle before choosing one again. As expected the same thing happened again.

Minato welcomed Pixie into his soul.

"Arisato, Takeba. What's going on?" the redhead demanded.

"Some of the defeated Shadows are leaving behind cards," the brunette explained. "They don't react to Junpei or me, but whenever Minato-kun touches them something happens."

"It's okay, I know what these things do," the cobalt haired teen interrupted before the redhead could start. "Anyone here injured?"

"Err, not really," Yukari answered looking a bit weary.

"I think I took an elbow to the chest, apart from that I'm fine," Junpei stated.

"That'll do…" He concentrated on Pixie, as he did so a blue tarot card made of energy forming in his left hand. Once formed he brought it up to his face, feeling the shift as orpheus moved into a waiting place within the depths of his soul and Pixie became the Persona he could summon. Having done that he swapped his sword into his off hand once again and used his Evoker. "Pixie!"

"What the…?!" the other male gasped as a smaller Persona that looked like a fairy came into existence. It blew him a kiss, which activated a healing spell on the 'injured' party member.

"How could you…?" the brunette started to ask before she figured out what the blue-haired teen was getting at. "No way!"

"Arisato… If you're right then this is amazing," the redhead added. "The chairman has been researching Personas for years and we've never seen anything like this."

"As much as sitting around in the middle of a Shadow lair sounds inviting, perhaps we'd best get out of here," Junpei interrupted, desperately trying to avoid another five to ten minute theoretical discussion.

"He has a point," the leader agreed. "We can't have much time left."

"Alright. Let's go back to the dorm for today," Mitsuru concurred. "There should be an access point somewhere on that floor. You can use it to return to the entrance. Since there aren't any enemies to worry about, why don't you split up and search individually?"

"Junpei you go right, Yukari you go left. Once you find the access point give us a call over the transceiver." the leader ordered.

"What about you?" the brunette asked.

To this the leader sheathed his sword, put his hands in his pockets and leaned on the wall. "I'll cover our backs."

He smirked as the other two started their searches, positive that he could hear Junpei mutter about 'lazy wannabe leaders'.

"Arisato." He looked down at the transceiver to see that Mitsuru had opened up a link between Akihiko, herself and him.

"Well what do you think?" the boxer asked. "Exciting, huh?"

"Well that's one way to look at it," the cobalt haired teen replied. "They did well, considering that it's the first time they evoked their Personas."

"Well I'm impressed by your performance," the redhead praised. "You've shown good leadership qualities, which eases my worries about sending you all in there without Akihiko or myself."

"Well we still have a way to go," the teen admitted. "We've just covered one floor. If we're going to go higher we need to come here a few times a week to train and improve our stamina."

"Well don't rush it; we'll have plenty of time," the redhead assured.

"Hey guys, I've located the access point," Yukari interrupted. "Want me to use it."

"Go ahead Yukari," the field leader confirmed.

The next moment they were back on the first floor.

"Welcome back. So, how was it?" Mitsuru asked as the two seniors made their way over to the green device.

"Exhausting," the blue-haired teen replied.

The redhead let out a slight chuckle. "It must've hit you all at once. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"Man, I never knew I had that kind of power!" Junpei stated as he placed his katana into the sheath on his back. "We kicked some ass! But damn, I'm beat…"

Minato let out a smile of sympathy for his male friend.

Yukari used it as a chance to snipe. "That's 'cause you were bouncing up and down like a little kid."

The teen turned towards the brunette, about to launch a counter strike before he noticed how shattered she looked. "You look pretty tired yourself, Yuka-tan."

"I'm still trying to catch my breath, actually..." she admitted as she sat down on the bottom step.

"That's the effect of the Dark Hour; you'll become fatigued more easily," the redhead clarified. "Don't worry, though, you'll adapt. But, I'm surprised... You all did much better than I expected. At this rate, they'll catch up to you in no time, Akihiko."

"Heh, we'll see about that," the senior replied, liking the idea of a challenge.

As they started to move towards the entryway to the tower Minato felt a surge of power.

_Thou art I... And I am thou... _

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to make a Persona of the Fool Arcana..._

Something inside him had changed.

He turned once again too look at the staircase leading into the tower, knowing that he'd be back to explore this place again.

He briefly wondered what the idiot was doing.

--

_Tuesday, 21st of April 2009. 00:35_

"I must say," the advisor turned away from the window of the moving vehicle to look at his charge, "I was surprised you let them continue."

"If they didn't have the heart I would have destroyed it myself," the heir admitted. "But since they have that heart, I have no choice."

"You've never explained why the Papillion Heart is so important," the old man stated.

"When a Papillion Heart is created, a mortal soul is pulled out of the cycle and trapped inside," the heir explained. "There isn't a worse fate for a mortal soul to face. Trapped in a body which cannot be destroyed, with a limited knowledge of what it means to be mortal. The type of people it would be around doesn't help matters either."

"You are passionate about this," the advisor pointed out.

"I have a debt to these souls. After all it was one of these anti-Shadow devices that brought me to Nii-san," the ex-Appriser explained. "And Nii-san was the one who saved me from my fate."

**End of Chapter 4**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Completed with editing from Vocarin

1.02 – Little change in the text for the Persona swap. Don't blame me, blame Persona 4 for the cool image,

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: You know, as a laugh and for an idea of just how much I was setting Minato's trust fund at, I started mucking around with my Mac's currency converter and was quite surprised to find that the maximum amount of money you could have in P3 (i.e. 9,999,999 yen) was only £47,405 (rounded to whole pounds on 11/07/2008). That meant that some of the equipment in P3 was really cheap and the money dropped in Tartarus is pretty pathetic (a level one coin card is only roughly £4.71) and you can spend a whole night in the Karaoke bar for £3.80, which is a damn sight cheaper than admission would cost in a place in the UK.

Also I'd like to thank Vocarin for agreeing to do the editing for this story. I'll still be posting a version once I'm done and I've given it a sweep through myself but it will be replaced with an edited version once everything that we agree needs fixing is done.

Also thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. There are some very good questions in there and I'm actually planning to try and answer some of these in the notes for the next chapter without giving too much away.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 5: **

_Tuesday, 21st of April 2009. 07:54_

As it turned out exploring Tartarus was a good way of getting a good night's sleep. Once they had got back to the apartment, Minato was asleep the moment his head hit his pillow.

Having thought about it on route to school, he'd decided that the best option was to hit Tartarus twice a week. The best options would be Thursdays and Saturdays unless the current situation deemed otherwise. This would allow the trio at least two nights to recover and relax before the next go, and three more runs before the month was out.

It was a shame that this Thursday wasn't an option due to the fact that Mitsuru-sempai wouldn't be there to give them support. As such they'd have to gamble on Friday instead.

"Hey!" He turned towards the voice to see a blue-haired junior he recognised from his homeroom was waving him over. "You're Minato, right?"

The blue-haired teen nodded in response before asking. "Who wants to know?"

"Man, I knew it. I heard from Junpei that you're pretty close with Yukari-san. ...What's up with that?" Minato made a mental note to smack the afore-mentioned Stupei when the next chance presented itself. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm looking for someone with a little more experience anyway. By the way... I'm Tomochika Kenji."

Deciding that it would be best to introduce himself properly then teen gave a slight bow. "Arisato Minato."

"There's a morning assembly, so we better hurry," Kenji said, causing the two to start moving for the school auditorium.

--

_Tuesday, 21st of April 2009. 08:27_

"...That concludes the main portion of today's assembly. Next, we'll hear a word from the Student Council," the student announcer stated from the podium on the stage. "Please welcome the new President, Mitsuru Kirijo, from Class 3-D."

"Thank you," the heiress replied as the announcer stood to the side to let her stand at the podium.

"Ah, she did get elected," Yukari whispered to the two teens in front of her. "Well... I guess she IS the most popular girl in school."

Jealous much?

"You can say that again! There's like some kinda aura around her..." Junpei muttered back, oblivious to the jealousy in the brunette's tone. "Besides, this school's owned by the Kirijo Group, right?"

"Yeah…" She replied looking at her hands with a sense of uneasiness. "I try not to think about that."

The blue-haired teen twisted his head to look at the suddenly sullen junior. "Want to talk about it later?" He may as well try to be a good leader.

"No Minato-Kun," The brunette replied demurely with a small smile. "I'm alright."

Okay maybe that wasn't the best way to imply that he wasn't interested in that sort of relationship…

Cursing himself for his inexperience with dealing with women… full stop, he turned his attention back to the stage.

"As I begin my term as Student Council President, I'd like to share with you my vision for this coming year," the heiress started. "It is my firm belief that each of us must accept the responsibility of bettering our school. However, change cannot occur without sustained effort and an unprecedented level of commitment. That is why we must restructure our daily lives to accommodate this lofty goal."

Junpei was right about one thing: Kirijo Mitsuru did exude an aura. He'd seen it before and, to be honest, it was impressive and worrying all at the same time.

She was driven.

In fact, so far as he could tell, so was the other senior member of S.E.E.S. The main difference was in how they had gone about it. Mitsuru seemed determined to be the person everyone expected her to be, the calm, confident and authoritative heiress of the Kirijo group. Akihiko however seemed to focus his drive into his fists and his will to fight.

This made for the two of them to be extraordinary in their fields of expertise, but it also had some worries. The main one would be the result if they lost the thing that was driving them forward. If that ever happened, they would either become much stronger people or it would break them.

Seeing that happen to either of them would be devastating to watch.

"I'd like each of you to dig deeply into your well of motivation, and re-evaluate your convictions... To imagine a bold new future without losing sight of the realities around you," the redhead implored. "That is the key. I am certain that many of you have your own visions of the future... For us to reap the full benefits of our education, your participation, ideas, and enthusiasm are essential. Thank you."

There was a thunderous round of applause as the heiress moved away from the podium.

"Dang... That was freaking amazing..." Junpei stated, pausing for a second before turning to Minato. "So... Do you have any idea what she just said?"

The junior couldn't help but put his head in his hands and sigh. "Sort of," the teen responded.

"Sure didn't sound like somethin' a high-schooler would say..." the other teen pointed out. "If it was anyone else, we'd be laughin' our asses off."

Minato let out a smile, knowing his friend was spot on.

--

_Tuesday, 21st of April 2009. 17:08_

Composition had been interesting... mostly because Kenji had fallen asleep during class and didn't have the skill to hide the fact. This earned the junior a second essay on top of the one assigned and the privilege of bringing the composition teacher a slice of cake, with the conditions that it shouldn't be... well, to quote Toriumi-Sensei: 'Don't cheap out with the store bought one.'

He packed up his belongings before heading for the exit, while on one of his trips back he's noticed that a second hand bookshop in the strip outside of Iwatodai station and had been meaning to drop by and have a quick browse. He left the school moving towards the exit when he heard something that made him stop and stare.

"It's Akihiko-Sempai!" a female voice screeched as a group of four fairly attractive girls noticed the silver haired boxer leave the school building. Noticing the attention he was now receiving, Akihiko let out a long suffering sigh as the girls crowded him and started to flirt.

"Hey." The blue-haired teen turned his head to see Junpei standing beside him. "Have you noticed how popular Akihiko-san is with the ladies? Man, take a look at that...I didn't use to talk to him much, but now I've got a good excuse."

Minato wasn't quite sure that the boxer felt that it was as much of a blessing as Junpei made it out to be.

"I know he's the captain of the boxing team, but... Who woulda thought he'd be such a chick magnet!?" The blue-haired teen carried on. "I mean, come on! You don't even see girls flock like that on TV! I wonder where they're going..."

"Wait for us!" The blue-haired teen's eyes stayed on his acquaintance as he tried to make an escape, the four girls hot on his heels. Noticing the two juniors watching from the sidelines and seeing his chance to kill two birds with one stone he called out to them.

"Hey, are you guys free this afternoon?" The boxer asked.

"Hell yeah! Whatcha got in mind!?" A suddenly enthusiastic Junpei replied, eying the four girls that were fawning over the senior.

"I want the two of you to meet me at Paulownia Mall," he stated before turning to the transfer student, asking, "you know where it is, right? I'll be at the police station. See ya there.

"Th-The police station?" The baseball-capped student stuttered before a feeling of dread filled him. "You mean... we're not hangin' out with your friends...?"

"Who, these girls? I don't even know their names," the boxer admitted to the astonishment of his comrades. "They talk so much they give me a headache. Anyway, I'm gonna head out. ...Don't keep me waiting." Using the fact that the four girls had paused in shock of his last comment, the boxer made a clean getaway.

"Awww... Why can't he be more friendly?" one of the admirers asked as they watched the teen make a hasty retreat.

"But, that's what makes him so cool!" another replied as the girls started to run after the boxer.

A head found its owner's hand as the blue-haired teen let out a sigh. You would think the senior could have the courtesy to at least know the names of the girls fawning over him.

The other remaining teen stated what the blue-haired transfer student was thinking. "Man, how can he not know their names!? I mean, seriously! Just look at them!" It seemed as though the other teen was looking at it from another angle. "...Oh well, let's go."

The two teens made their way over to the mall. The blue-haired transfer student listening to the constant complaints from his companion about their Sempai's unwanted luck with women for the majority of the journey. Once they had reached Paulownia Mall the teen had a quick look around for the police station before dragging his still complaining companion through the doorway.

They found Akihiko standing by the reception desk talking to a police officer. The officer handed over a file to the silver haired boxer, after having a quick browse the teen tucked it into his school bag. "Thank you sir. Oh, these are the guys I was talking about earlier," the teen stated as he noticed the two teens by the entryway.

The officer regarded both of the newcomers in silence.

"I was waiting for you guys. This is Officer Kurosawa," the senior introduced the officer. "He helps keep our squad well-equipped. And, this is from Ikutsuki-san..."

The teen passed each of the teens a brown envelope containing a wad of yen notes.

"R-Really!? Sweet!" Junpei exclaimed as he started to look through the contents of his envelope.

The other junior wasn't as enthusiastic though. There was roughly 5,000 yen in the packet, and although that was a nice gesture, it wasn't really much to work with especially when there was a large corporation behind S.E.E.S., not to mention that they didn't really have any other option than rely on five high school students.

"You can't fight something empty-handed, so find something you like," the silver haired boxer encouraged. "Officer Kurosawa has connections... But, these things still cost money."

"Of course they do. Nothing in life is free." The officer interrupted.

The senior made a move to assure the officer, "I realize that. Well, I'll see you later." He bade farewell to the two students before turning to the officer again. "Thanks again."

With that the silver haired teen left the station.

"I've been informed about you two." The officer stated as the two teens approached. "My job is to maintain peace in this city, regardless of the circumstances. I'm just an ordinary police officer, but it doesn't take a genius to know something strange is going on here." Well the blue-haired teen could agree with that. "I'm only doing what I think is right."

"And that includes selling old fashioned weapons to teenagers who haven't even graduated high school?" Minato asked with a smirk.

"It helps that you have some important people who are willing to vouch for you," the officer replied.

Ah yes, the Kirijo Group had pretty much paid and developed the whole of Port Island, he could remember that his father was looking into that before…

…

…it was best not to dwell on the past. He'd done that far too much already.

"Well come with me and I'll show you what we have," the officer stated as he led them into a back room.

There was as if they had walked into an enactor's armoury: European rapiers and epees, a modern version of a Roman gladius, a British medieval longsword, a few different makes of katanas, a couple sets of knuckle-dusters, metal lined boxing gloves and several different styles of bows ranging from the Japanese yumi to the British longbow.

"Whoa," the baseball-capped teen responded, well it did pretty much sum it up.

Five thousand yen wouldn't really cut it when you had a choice like this… So it was fortunate that his monthly allowance from his trust fund had been paid this week.

"I'll have a look at that gladius," the teen stated. "Do you take plastic?"

The two teens left the police station 2 hours later having used a large portion of the blue-haired teen's allowance to kit themselves up for Tartarus on Thursday, as they had bought some equipment for Yukari as well. It had been agreed that, unless Yukari had any reservations, any

cash that could found within Tartarus would be going straight to a weapon slush fund for future purchases… Right after Minato had recovered enough money so he would be able to survive the month.

On the way home the blue-haired transfer student was glad that he had been issued a free public transport card.

--

_Tuesday, 21st of April 2009. 19:08_

"Ah Arisato, perfect timing." The teen turned to see Mitsuru sitting on one of the couches. "I'd like to speak to you for a moment."

Minato was glad that Junpei had split off to have a beef bowl; otherwise he wouldn't want to think of the innuendo he'd find in that innocent statement. "This wouldn't be about the small armoury the police are about to ship in is it?"

"No. But you can expect words about that once it arrives," The redhead stated. "What I wanted to talk to you about is our exploration of Tartarus."

The teen settled down on the arm of the chair before he nodded for the redhead to continue.

"Akihiko is still on the mend, so for now, I'd like you to lead the team," the heiress started to explain. "You never know when a powerful enemy might appear, like the one you faced the other day. It's best to be prepared, or else you may find yourself in a difficult situation."

"It will probably be for the best not to rely on something I don't really know how to replicate." The blue-haired teen sighed.

"So, whenever you'd like to explore Tartarus, just let me know, and I'll gather everyone there," the redhead carried on. "Also, since I'm sure there are other things you will need to take care of, you may go out at night if you need to. There's no need to worry too much about curfew if we're going to break it on a regular basis. Any questions?"

He considered what he was about to ask, wondering if it was a good idea or a monumental mistake of idiot proportions. "Sempai, I can tell you and Akihiko-Sempai are hiding things from us." As he watched the redhead start to reply he held up the hand, "If you don't want to say anything, that's fine, I have things I don't really like talking about either. Just tell me now if anything you're hiding would change our minds about that we're doing."

The redhead let out a sigh. "I should have been prepared for this. You had already figured out something was off when you first came here, so I should have seen this coming." A crimson eye locked glaze with silver. "On the honour of my family, I swear I'm not holding anything important about the Shadows that would change your stance on fighting them."

"Alright. I'm going to get some sleep." The blue-haired student slipped off the arm of the chair. "I'll see you tomorrow."

As he started for the staircase two police officers entered the dorm with a small… ish… okay a decent sized crate. "Arisato, would you like to explain or should I just execute you now?"

--

_Wednesday, 22nd of April 2009. 07:48_

Having spent a good hour last night giving a perfectly valid reason as to why he and Junpei had bought enough weaponry to take on a small army, and having avoided his planned execution at the hands of the heiress of the Kirijo Group, Minato hadn't got that much done the previous night. After all, once the crate had arrived, the three S.E.E.S. members who were active in exploring Tartarus had spent most of the night going through the equipment. In the end, even the two senior members had been drawn in; as Mitsuru was distracted from her discontent with the crate by a well-crafted rapier, and Akihiko had started to inspect the knuckle-dusters.

After having a chance to give the gladius and the longsword as decent a try out as he could in the space the dorm provided, he'd placed the longsword back in storage for the moment, deciding that his skills and stamina weren't enough so that he'd feel confident with the larger weapon than he would with his short sword. The gladius turned out to be a good go between, since it was slightly longer and a bit heavier and the centre of gravity was further down the blade. This would allow him to get more used to wielding a heaver one handed blade before he would try the longsword again.

The most interesting thing included in the crate was actually material that had been developed by the Kirijo group as the next generation of armour for the police force. He wasn't sure exactly how it worked but the lightweight fabric would solidify with an impact or slice becoming more resistant than a couple of inches of Kevlar. After marvelling at the material, and wondering why they couldn't have got it straight from the Kirijo Group itself, Mitsuru had agreed to arrange for a seamstress to sew the material into a set of school uniforms for each of the members to use on Thursday.

"What's up, Minato?" The blue-haired teen looked to see Kenji signalling him over. "Huh...? You're all by yourself? Dude, I thought the rumours about you and Yukari-san were true..."

Letting out a long suffering sigh the teen stated. "It is what it is."

And it was nothing.

"Oh yeah? Well, it's not like I care or anything," the brown-haired student tried to seem unfazed. "But, you've sure had some bad luck since you transferred here. ...You know, dude, all the weird stuff that's been happening..."

"Like what?" the teen replied as they started moving towards the school doors.

"How everyone's been saying they're hearing strange voices..." the teen started to explain before looking at the pair of earphones hung from the teen's neck. "Well, I guess since you're always listening to your headphones, you probably haven't heard anything."

Paranoia was most likely behind most of these voices; it was one of those things that happened. Someone would claim they heard voices; this would lead to people being more focused on what they heard and normal noises that happened all the time, but what you never took note of were suddenly mysterious voices. Granted, not all cases of this type were down to paranoia; some people did hear voices because of mental conditions and some were affected by the Shadows.

The teen only nodded as the two students entered the school building.

--

_Wednesday, 22nd of April 2009. 17:08_

Okay, he had to be honest; he'd not given any of his classes an iota of attention today, instead he'd gone onto what he had dubbed automatic note taking mode. It happened sometimes, when he had something on his mind that he wanted to put full consideration into he'd zone out, however he'd still listen to what the teacher had said and taken notes perfectly.

It was a handy skill to have.

"Hey, man." He looked up to see Kenji standing in front of his desk. "I'm gonna get some ramen after school. You wanna come?"

Normally he wouldn't go out with someone from his school before he got a better chance to know them, but with the threat of a possible execution still hanging in the air from the armoury debacle, maybe being late back wasn't such a bad idea after all. Still it was best to not seem too eager. "Why are you asking me?"

"No reason, really. I just don't have anything to do later..." The brown-haired student started. "And I thought we could finish our conversation from this morning. So whaddya say, man? Let's get some ramen and talk."

Well ramen sounded good especially since he was now a bit short from yesterday.

The blue-haired teen nodded his head in acknowledgement as he stood up from his chair and collected his belongings before walking out of the classroom with his eating companion.

Hagakure was a small ramen shop on the second floor of the Iwatodai strip; it was a nice little place that had a good atmosphere and a nice aromatic smell. He watched as his friend ordered two bowls of the house special as they took stools by the counter. Minato watched as the cook started to serve two portions as Kenji made small talk; once the two had been served they started to eat in relative silence.

Well when he said relative...

"...Whew! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" The brown-haired teen exclaimed as he finished his first mouthful. "...Well, was I right, or was I right? This ramen tastes great, doesn't it? I bet they put a special ingredient in it--something no other ramen shop uses. It's probably some sort of secret spice..." The teen stopped realising that he may sound a touch odd. "Oh, sorry. My bad. I get all geeked up when I eat here."

"It tastes great," Minato replied before helping himself to another mouthful. Ramen always tasted great when you didn't have to pay.

"Really? I mean, you can appreciate the subtle yet distinct flavour of the soup?" Kenji asked as he looked at the blue-haired teen with an expression of shock. "...Wow, you don't look like the type of guy I'd normally hang around with... But I guess looks aren't everything."

Gee... Thanks for that.

"...By the way, man, I hear you and Yukari are close. Damn, boy, you move fast!" Oh hell no, not this again. Maybe he could ask Mitsuru if she would execute Stupei for him.

Mitsuru...? When had he started using her first name?

...he was doomed.

He could only hope he'd survive long enough to see what the carnage would be if the idiot did ask the attractive redhead out.

"I mean, you just transferred here. ...I can't blame you, though. A man's gotta be aggressive nowadays," the teen stated as he waved his chopsticks to emphasize his point. "Hey, let's hang out after school again sometime. We'll get some food and I'll tell you about my secret plan... Wait 'til you hear it, dude. You're gonna flip!"

He could hardly wait... Well at least he had made another friend and this one wasn't as stupid as Junpei...

There was a surge of power.

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Magician Arcana..._

A bond of friendship had been formed.

As the blue-haired teen looked out of the window as he finished his meal. "It's getting dark out there."

"What? It's already night-time?" Kenji looked as his wristwatch. "...Damn, I missed my favourite TV show! Man, you're one serious dude... Oh well, let's get going."

He watched as Kenji left a tip for the cook before they made a move to leave. He listened to the teen explain the plot of his favourite show, which oddly enough was based around a panda that eats crime, before they finally reached the point where they had to go their separate ways.

That night Minato had a dream where he ended up being chased around by a giant panda holding a bottle of soy sauce.

--

_Thursday, 23rd of April 2009. 17:12_

Arisato Minato found himself watching as the Kendo team tried to knock the stuffing out of each other, all under the pretences of sparring practice. The coach turned away from supervising the swordsmen to see the possible recruit standing by the doorway.

"Decided to join have you?" the coach asked as he approached the teen.

"I thought that if there was going to be fighting, it may as well be what we're supposed to be doing," the teen replied.

"Heh, got a point kid. Oi, stop what you're doing!" The coach cracked a smile at the obvious reference to his two colleagues before he turned and yelled out to the students in the class. "This is Arisato Minato from 2-F. He'll be joining the team today."

The blue-haired teen watched as the group of swordsmen and a girl about his age, who wore a tracksuit and seemed to go to the tanning salon a lot, gathered around the coach and the new kid.

"This is Yuko," the coach pointed to the sole female in the gym. "She's the manager of the team."

The teen watched as the girl moved forward and finally noticed the white makeup that readily identified her as a follower of the Ganguro fashion style.

"Hello, I'm Nishiwaki Yuko. Nice to meet you," she greeted with a half bow. "You're a junior, right? Since we're the same year, you can just call me Yuko."

"Pleasure."The teen gave a slight nod in addition to the response.

Having seen that the introduction was done the coach decided to carry on. "Hey! Kazushi! Get your arse up here!" the coach yelled out.

"Yes sir!" a reply came from the back of the room as one of the swordsmen shuffled forward.

"Kazushi here is the future captain of this team. He's a great athlete and scores well in competition," the coach explained. "Kazushi, you're in 2-F, right?" Seeing the teen nod the coach carried on with a request, "Keep an eye on the newbie here, okay?"

"No problem," the athlete replied as he turned to regard the newcomer. "So... You're the guy who went out with Yukari Takeba on the first day of school, right?"

...

Minato held back both the sigh that tried to escape and the newly discovered need to smack his head against a brick wall... even breeze block would do, to be honest. "Well that's what everyone is saying," the teen stated in a sign of defeat.

"You're practically famous," the teen muttered before properly introducing himself. "I'm Kazushi Miyamoto. You've seen me around, right?"

A smirk worked its way onto the transfer student's face. "You're the guy who got yelled at in front of everyone, on the first day of school, because you wouldn't wear a school uniform, right?"

He saw the teen manager blush as the athlete scratched his head in embarrassment. "Dude, you're hurtin' my pride..." The teen muttered before regaining his composure. "If that's the case then, long story short: from now on after school, you're mine."

Did the teen know how dodgy that last statement came out?

"...and don't think that because you joined mid-season, that I'll go easy on you." A grin appeared as methods of torture came to the junior's mind.

The teen barely noted the look due to the similar surge of power he was experiencing.

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Chariot Arcana..._

He'd created another bond of friendship.

He was rescued from the chores of Kazushi's torture by the team manager. "Since today is your first practice, just have a look around and then call it a day," Yuko suggested. "I'll make sure you have a set of equipment ready for next time."

After nodding his acknowledgement to the team manager the grey eyed teen spent the next hour watching the Kendo team spar, mostly focusing on the upcoming captain. From what he had picked up from books Kazushi practiced a fairly robust style of Kendo, going for powerful, precise blows and solid footwork. All in all there was nothing wrong with the method that the other teen used, but there were flaws that could be used to an opponent's advantage.

He would be interested to see how the athlete would do against what was slowly becoming his style of fighting. While the more experienced swordsman would have more power and, for the moment, better precision, the blue-haired teen used the 'evade and counter' approach. As such it would be interesting to see how the swordsman's stamina would last in such a fight.

However he'd need to make some changes first since he was using a one handed sword style while for kendo he'd have to develop a two handed style, which may not have all the advantages his current style enjoyed. Also, in proper kendo matches, he would suffer issues from his quiet nature and could lose out on points because of it.

When the teen left the gym for the journey home he was lost in thought about what he could do to make sure he didn't make himself look like a moron next session. He had even considered having a tryout with one of the katanas the teen had in the armoury, but he had just avoided being executed for purchasing the stuff in the first place. It was best not to try his luck and discover what Mitsuru... _Kirijo-Sempai_ would do if he damaged the dorm with it.

However his thoughts on Kendo could wait, it was Thursday.

And Tartarus beckoned.

--

_Thursday, 23rd of April 2009. DH:37_

The first few floors had gone well, really. They had taken a relaxed pace through each floor ambushing any patrolling Shadow they could before they found the staircase to the next level and that had done them well for the first 3 levels. Until Junpei had lost his patience and made a thoughtless charge at the first Shadow he could see.

This was why the three were running like madmen... and woman away from the twenty odd Shadows that were in hot pursuit.

"Mitsuru-Sempai, this could be a good time to point out the Access Point," the blue-haired teen stated hurriedly through the transceiver as the trio rounded a corner.

"I'm working on it," the redhead replied as she started to manipulate her equipment. "Keep heading the way you're going, take the second left and then follow the corridor."

"Stupei!" the huffing brunette yelled. "If we survive this you're so dead."

"Heh, heh." The afore-mentioned stupid teen chuckle nervously as they reached the second junction. "How the hell was I to know that there were two other groups nearby?"

"We do have a close range scan from Mitsuru-Sempai," the blue-haired teen replied as they turned the junction and sped towards the white box that was now showing on the transceiver's screen.

"Or you could just use your brain... Oh sorry forgot that's a foreign concept for you, you moron!" Yukari didn't waste a second to add.

"You two get to the Access Point and activate it," the blue-haired teen told them as he stopped at the next corner. "I'll delay them here."

"Then I better help since I'm the moron who got us in this situation," the black-haired teen insisted.

"Go with Yukari." Minato stopped him before he could get ready. "There could be a group at the point."

"But that will..." Yukari started.

"When you activate the point it will pull us all out." A grey eye locked onto amber. "So stop wasting time and get moving."

"'Kay dude." The katana armed teen stated as he started to move down the corridor. "I owe you one."

"Then stop spreading rumours about me dating Yukari." If looks could kill the said Stupei would be in a coffin. "Yukari. Access Point now, kill Stupei later."

"Got it," the brunette responded as she started to move again. "Come on Stupei!"

Once they were gone he rested for a second against the wall, preparing himself for what could be a last stand. He could hear the Shadows' stampede as they approached; he waited for the last moment and just as the lead Shadow reached the corner, he took a deep breath and swung.

When you took in the fact that the strike was completely unexpected, the momentum of the approaching Shadow, and the vicious two handed swing that the blue-haired swordsman unleashed, it was no surprise that the leading Shadow disintegrated to dust. The teen didn't stop for a second however as he avoided a strike from another Shadow, moving further back in the corridor before drawing his Evoker.

"Orpheus!" The teen shouted as he pulled the trigger.

His plan wasn't destruction of the Shadows, in this situation that would not be wise. Instead he was aiming to try and knock down as many as possible so that he would gain some time as the others reached the Access Point. As such he had Orpheus use his agi attack to knock down as many of the blue masked Shadows and the hand like ones.

That cut the Shadows down to seven, but that didn't mean this was now a cake walk.

Especially when the other Shadows were ready to attack.

The first evasion brought the leader away from the incoming attack as planned, but he didn't have time to launch a counter as another of the Shadows followed up, causing the teen to evade again, it was the third attack that the teen wasn't able to dodge quickly enough.

He was fortunate that Mitsuru had come through and the uniform he was wearing had the protective material they had got from the police sewn inside, otherwise that would have done more than just hurt like hell.

One of the Shadows seeing an opportunity made an attempt at a coup de grace, however the teen wasn't of out things yet and he met the charge, thrusting forward the gladius he still held in his hand.

Before each of the attacks landed there was a flash of light and Minato found himself sprawled on the first floor by the strange green device.

"Arisato!"

"Minato-Kun."

The teen looked to see both the brunette and the redhead making their way over to the prone teenager.

"You okay, dude?" the black-haired teen asked as he offered out his hand.

"I'm alright," Minato replied as he made a move to grab Junpei's hand in order to get up.

However this venture was interrupted as a brunette slapped the taller teen's hand away before she started to lay into him. "Does he look alright, Stupei!?" she asked as she pointed to the three claw marks on Minato's blazer. "Of all the daft, stupid, idiotic things you could have..."

As the brunette forced the standing teen into a corner, the blue-haired teen felt a hand on his shoulder as the redhead stopped him from standing up. "Arisato, stay still," the heiress told him as she started to check the areas around the damaged blazer for any injuries.

"Honestly Sempai, I'm alright," the teen started to assure her. "But I think this proves that we didn't go over the top as we thought-" The comment was caught off by a hiss as the redhead probed a sensitive area.

"You're as bad as Akihiko and you've only just joined," the redhead admonished as she stood up and drew her Evoker pointed it at her head and fired.

This was the first time Minato had actually seen Penthesilea. The Persona cast Dia on him before vanishing back into its seat in Mitsuru's soul.

"Thanks." The blue-haired teen gave the other a small smile before he got back to his feet. "I think we've had enough for tonight let's call it a day."

It took a while to stop the brunette from chastising Stupei; as such they only left Tartarus just before time ran out.

--

_Friday, 24th of April 2009. 14:04_

Arisato Minato felt tired.

When Toriumi-Sensei had seen the state the transfer student was in she didn't hesitate in sending the teen to the nurse's office.

He'd seen the looks on Yukari, Kenji, Kazushi and Junpei's faces; to say the least he wasn't that confident that he'd be any better once he came out the other side.

He approached the door cautiously, wondering if this was truly a good idea, before realising that he really didn't have a choice, since returning to class without having been would have set off Toriumi-Sensei.

Once he entered though he started to wonder if maybe Toriumi-Sensei's wrath wouldn't be so bad after all.

"How can I help you? Mm, hm, hm, hm..." The nurse looked over the teenager with interest. "Well now, what do we have here? You seem unwell. Is it a wound? A virus? A curse? Or is it love?"

"Err..." Minato tried to explain he was just tired but the man in a white lab coat wasn't having any of it.

"This is the perfect opportunity to try my new concoction... Ehehehehehehehe. Here try this..." The laugh would have put anyone off; the horrible smell emanating from the offered bottle was just overkill. "It includes bitter mugwort, poison carrot, henbane, jujube, rabbit's foot,. etcetera, etcetera... Even Hakusan's finest alchemist would be astonished by the ingredients."

There was probably a good reason for that.

"I shall treat your illness right here and now. Now drink this... Come on... Drink up!" The nurse placed the bottle in the teen's hand and started to watch with glee.

Okay, time to take stock... Drink it and get out of here or refuse and see what other things this nutcase would try and offer him.

Well as they say 'Who dares, wins.'

The taste was indescribable; it was so bad that he was even sure that it was burning his throat on the way down and he had to choke back down a load of bile once it had reached his stomach. The nurse looked on with a look of slight worry before releasing a sigh of relief. "...Phew well done. Whether or not you get better is inconsequential... You survived!" the nutcase stated. "Cheers to your bravery... ...Sorry to have deceived you."

Minato wondered if the school would care if Edogawa-Sensei ended up found dead outside the school gates one afternoon.

"Well Saturn is calling, toodeloo."

Felling worse than when he'd entered, Minato returned to class.

--

_Friday, 24th of April 2009. 17:08_

"Hey Minato." The teen looked up to see Kenji looking at him with a look of sympathy. "I can't believe Toriumi-Sensei sent you to poison master Edogawa. You look like shit man."

"Heh, thanks for that," the teen replied as he placed his head back between his folded hands.

"Alright, let's go to Hagakure." The teen stated. "A good bowl of ramen is just what you need. I'm buying; hell, after going through the Edogawa treatment you deserve it."

"Thanks Kenji." The blue-haired teen gave a slight smile in reply before he gathered his stuff.

Twenty minutes later they found themselves in at the counter in Hagakure with a bowl of the special in front of them.

"Hey, dude, your dorm's co-ed, right?" Kenji asked as he struck up the conversation. "So, can you, like, go into Yukari-san's room and stuff?"

"Only if I had a death wish," the blue-haired answered between mouthfuls of ramen.

"...No, huh? Yeah, that's what I thought," Kenji acknowledged before stating. "Well, I'm not interested in girls her age, anyway. When it comes to women, I like them to be older than me. What about you?"

The teen took a moment to contemplate the question. The one girl he had considered was older than him, but she was also well out of reach. "I don't think age really matters in these things."

"No really! Really? So you don't discriminate, huh?" The brown-haired teen replied with a bit of shock. "That's awesome, good for you, man."

"It's nothing really." Minato replied. It was the truth after all.

"...Well, to tell you the truth, I--wait, this is just between us, okay?" After seeing the other teen nod his head, Kenji carried on. "I have my eye on someone.

"This is the 'secret plan' you were talking about." Minato asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to ask her out. Not that that's a big deal or anything..." The teen tried to play it down before finally admitting. "...Well, I guess it IS a big deal since she's a teacher at our school..."

Okay, this could be a bigger deal than his brown-haired friend realised.

"Anyways, I want you to be there when I ask her out. But you gotta promise you won't tell anyone, okay?" Kenji implored as he put down his chopsticks. "Cuz if people find out they'll be all like, 'That's inappropriate' or whatever..."

He'd seen this happen at a few of the schools that he's been enrolled with; the poor little bastard had no idea.

Minato felts a surge of power mixed in with his pity.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Magician Arcana..._

His bond with Kenji had grown.

"Damn, dude! My favourite TV show is on! Later!" He watched as the teen quickly bolted out of the ramen shop.

"Here's your bill." The cook stated as he put a piece of paper in front of the remaining teenager.

The son of a...

**End of Chapter 5**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Competed version edited by Vocarin

1.02 – Slight mod to chapter to cover a huge date cock up. Cue 'Mitsuru was unavailable so they would have to go the next day.' Story saver.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: I must apologise for the tardiness of this chapter. I've been planning to try and get two chapters out a week, one if things get hectic. But last week's issues have pushed me back a touch. Hopefully seven will be done before the weekend, but I'm not going to promise anything. Btw to my reviewers, a few of you asked questions that I thought deserved an answer so I've done a little Q&A at the bottom of the chapter after the version change log. I'll try to keep it spoiler free and answer your questions.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 6: **

_Saturday, 25th of April 2009. 17:28_

Even after the events of last night, Arisato Minato had woken up in a good mood.

So what if the little bastard Kenji had ditched him with the bill. He'd get what was coming to him eventually. After all he'd roped in Junpei's help with the matter since the black-haired teen had realised that if Kenji thought he could get away with it with Minato, he may attempt the same trick on others, which included a certain baseball cap wearing junior who was low on cash.

However, that wasn't why the teen was in a good mood. Today that second hand bookshop in the Iwatodai strip would be reopening after the owners had returned from their holidays.

To be honest Minato had been looking forward to this all week.

A small smile appeared on his face as he remembered Junpei's response when he had explained why he was leaving school so early.

'_Whoop-de-fucking-do.'_

A light chuckle escaped the teen. Under other circumstances he might have agreed with the teen, but in the dark days, when he was alone before Ryoji came into his life, reading and listening to music is what allowed him to make it through the days and more importantly the nights.

However there was always something special about second hand bookstores. Every book inside had been bought by someone else at some point; it had caught the interest of somebody, even if the only thing that had interested them had been the description. More so however these shops were a treasure trove of unusual and uncommon books that could be bought at a fraction of what he would have to spend for a new copy.

The teen opened the door to Bookworms.

The first thing the teen noticed was the old couple by the counter. The old lady was facing away from him, obviously checking on something while the old man, who was watching the shop, noticed the teen enter.

"Welcome," the older man greeted. "What would you like today? We have fresh mackerel...!"

Right… "Well… Err…" The teen paused to figure out just how he was supposed to point out just how ridiculous that sounded coming from an owner of a bookstore.

"I'm sorry," the old woman turned to face the customer before correcting her husband. "As you can see, we don't sell fish here.

Well that was apparent…

"I'm just going to have a quick look around." The teen responded as he moved over to the two hundred yen section.

The old man gave the customer a once over before speaking again. "Hey, you're a student, aren't you? You must be from Gekkoukan High, right?" Seeing the student nod, he continued, "That means you've probably seen the persimmon tree there..."

"Tree?" the teen asked.

"Do you think I'm making this up!? ...I'm serious!" the old man exclaimed. "It was planted right besides a walkway in a courtyard at the school."

He'd seen the tree several times on the way to the gym; it was hard to miss to be honest. However no one really seemed to know why it was there, only that it'd been there for years.

"I'm sorry. He's rambling on like an old man," the old lady apologised. "Just ignore him."

It could be worth investigating.

He quickly paid for the two books he'd acquired from the stacks before he spotted a teen looking over at the bicycles.

He quietly moved up to the teen who was looking over the Personal vehicles, and once he'd reached his side without being noticed he waited a few seconds before placing his hand on the teen's shoulders. "Hello Kenji."

"Wha...!" A grin appeared on the cobalt-haired student's face as his brown-haired friend jumped out of his skin. "Min... Min... Minato!"

He considered getting his revenge there, but that would be too easy. Best to let the little sod squirm. "Fancy some ramen at Hagakure?" the teen asked. "I'm buying."

"Err..." The teen wasn't sure what to do. This was someone who he'd stitched up yesterday, so being around them probably wasn't wise... But this was ramen he was offering. "Sure... why not?"

The cobalt-haired teen offered his most disarming smile, something he'd picked up from years around Ryoji. "Let's go then."

Kenji was still tense as they took their usual stools at Hagakure, something that didn't change even after their order was taken and the food was served up. It was only after a few minutes enjoying the soothing taste of the special that Kenji started to relax.

"Tch! Dude, I'm so sick of this..." the brown-haired junior muttered.

"Sick of what?" Minato asked.

"Life I guess." The teen suddenly seemed sullen. "I mean, I wake up, go to school, listen to lame-ass lectures, come home, eat, watch TV, go to sleep..."

"Worried about getting stuck in the same old cycle, huh?" Minato deduced as a small smile of sympathy formed on his face. "I guess the only thing you can do is try and break it."

"Well, Minato, that settles it. I'm gonna get myself a girlfriend!" the student exclaimed placing his chopsticks back on the counter.

"Don't act like Junpei and start pawing over girls who are out of your reach." A grey eye locked onto the brown-haired student to emphasize the point.

"What're you saying, dude? I'm a smooth operator; I got skills!" The teen replied looking slightly insulted before a smile broke out. "Just watch, soon I'll have a girlfriend, just like you!"

The cobalt-haired teen sighed. He'd almost decided to let his wayward friend off with his misdeed, but he'd brought up the bloody Yukari rumour again, and he couldn't let that slide.

"I take it you're not going in blind then." Minato was sure that it was the case.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna go ahead with my secret plan, dude," Kenji started. "I told you, right? I'm going after a teacher. I'm gonna ask her out and make her fall in love with me."

It didn't mean however that the plan didn't suck.

"Her name is Ms. Kanou. You don't know her, do you? She teaches 12th grade ethics. I'm totally acing her class." This was worse than he thought. What moron would try to start up a student-teacher illicit affair with the ethics instructor? "She's not the most beautiful woman, but she's really cute. She has pretty eyes, a nice little body, and..."

The blue-haired teen tuned the teen out, occasionally nodding his head to make it seem like he was still listening to his friend sing the praises of his latest interest.

"Hey, man, don't tell anyone about this, okay?" the teen implored. "You're the only one who knows."

Minato nodded his head acknowledging his friend's request. It was probably best if no one else knew.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Magician Arcana..._

His friendship with the little sod had grown.

They spent some time going over what the teen's plan of attack would be. As the brown-haired teen looked drowsy the cobalt-haired teen placed the money for the meal on the counter.

"You're friend looks a bit out of it today," the cook noted as he took the money away.

"It's to be expected, he's got himself a bit overexcited," the cobalt teen replied smoothly as he pulled out his mobile and pressed a quick dial number.

No... This was overexcitement...

And had nothing to do with the sleeping powder he'd put in Kenji's drink.

"Junpei." Minato didn't bother explaining who it was; the silence would answer it for him. "I need a bit of help dealing with a certain idiot."

--

_Saturday, 25th of April 2009. 21:38_

Mitsuru watched as Minato and Iori walked into the apartment. The blue-haired teen had a small smile and an aura of satisfaction, while the black-haired teen was struggling mightily to contain his mirth. "You're late," she stated as she turned back to her book.

"Sorry Mitsuru–sempai," Minato replied. "We just had a quick task to take care of."

Iori snorted, earning himself an elbow from the more sensible of the two.

"Well I see no real problems," the redhead admitted. "Just don't make it a habit."

"Alright," the teen shot her a genuine smile that had a bigger effect on her than she'd like to admit before turning to his friend who was turning blue. "I think it's best if we hold off Tartarus for tonight. Night, sempai."

"Good night, Arisato," she replied as the blue-haired teen quickly ushered his friend up the stairs.

Even with the floor in the way she could hear wild laughter shaking the building to its foundations.

--

_Sunday, 26th of April 2009. 07:38_

Some things never surprised the Janitor of Gekkoukan High School, especially since he had over thirty years in the job. He had seen it all, or so he thought, and that was why he was mildly surprised to see that security had missed the fact that a brown-haired student had fallen asleep on the property.

Especially since he was only wearing his boxers and had been tied to the flagpole.

--

_Sunday, 26th of April 2009. DH:04_

Mochizuki Ryoji watched on in the observation chamber to the side of the lab as two of the scientists made some final checks to the prepared mechanical body. Although he was irked by the fact that they had done this in the first place, he had to admit they had done a top-notch job. The Kirijo Group Anti-Shadow weapons were designed for mid to long range combat with Persona support, usually by building firearms into rigs that attached to the arms or into arm replacement modules, which made them effective in ranged and support operations, but a touch vulnerable to close range combat.

The Mochizuki Enterprises model was designed to be more protective of the delicate parts as such she had been designed for close quarter combat, as this would allow her to perform more like a standard Persona user. Although just because she was designed for close combat didn't mean that she was helpless when it came to ranged combat either…

"I take it everything is prepared?" the heir asked the lead scientist who was standing behind where the heir and his advisor were monitoring the operation.

"Yes Mochizuki-sama," the scientist replied as one of his colleagues left the body and headed into the isolated section of the lab. "The final tests have been completed. All this is left to do is to install the Papillion Heart and then it should be active."

"She," the heir corrected.

"Excuse me?" The scientist looked a bit perplexed.

"The being you are creating in there is no mere machine. You are implanting a soul into a mechanical body," the heir explained. "Treat her with respect."

The scientist was quiet for a time, unable to figure out a reply that would have a hope in hell of allowing him to keep his job. Fortunately he was saved as his subordinate returned to the main section of the lab with a glass container that held the small device that the heir had looked at a few days ago.

Metis was about to be introduced to her body.

--

_Sunday, 26th of April 2009. DH:17_

He could tell that Junpei had learned his lesson from before; he was waiting for Minato to sort out an ambush _before_ he moved in. Granted, it could be that he wanted to avoid Yukari's wrath,

but that wasn't the point. It meant that they had been able to get past the first floors with relative ease and they had now just reached the fifth floor with few problems.

"I'm detecting 3 very powerful Shadows on that level," Mitsuru announced as she continued to check her readings. "Be careful," the redhead advised.

"Understood, sempai," Yukari answered as the blue-haired leader moved forward towards the green device over the other side of the room.

"Arisato, stop," the heiress called as she looked over her readings. "Have a look at that device over there."

The teen looked at the green device indicated noticing that it looked the same as the one they saw on the first floor.

Yukari often liked to state the obvious. "This looks like the one near you Sempai."

"I hadn't noticed Takeba," the redhead responded dryly.

The blue-haired teen placed his hand on the green orb in the centre of the device, watching as the orb started to glow green and an image of the tower appeared with a numbered key on the side. So far the only section lit was the first block, which had been noted as Thebel and the numbers one and five were showing as options on the side. The screen also had a title that identified the device.

'_Terminal'_

"It seems to be a quick transport system for the tower," Minato told the group. "A bit like an elevator."

"So if we called it a night we could start from here next time," Yukari stated.

"Well that'd beat havin' to climb from the first floor every single time," Junpei noted.

"This must also be tied into the Access Point system," Mitsuru mused.

"You're probably right," the cobalt-haired teen replied as he moved towards the other exit to the large room. "Let's get this over with."

The advanced up the corridor, Minato taking point, Junpei just behind him to one side and Yukari taking up the rear. They were expecting trouble and that was what found them as Minato dodged to the left as something dived at the blue-haired teen, unable to deliver a counter before the attacker was out of range.

The trio turned to face 3 bird-like Shadows.

"This seems to be the source of the large signature I was detecting," Mitsuru noted calmly. "It's probably guarding this area."

"Prepare a scan on my target, Sempai," as a grey eye kept one of the Shadows in its sight.

"I'm on it," the redhead replied over the transceiver. "Give me a moment."

Another dived, this time aiming for the black-haired katana wielding teen. Junpei however was ready as he swung his weapon at the charging bird with a swing that looked as if it would have got the teen a home run. The slash connected, causing the bird to stagger a bit, but the injured Shadow was still a threat.

"Something's wrong," the redhead announced as she pressed a few more switches on her equipment. "I can't get a reading on these things."

Well that was just peachy. "Don't worry about it," Minato stated as he dodged another swipe. This was becoming a problem; Minato and Junpei were armed with close combat weapons, and they were exactly optimal for the situation because there were few openings left by this sort of foe using these weapons.

Then there was the fact that Junpei was in real trouble.

"Urgh!" the katana wielding junior cried as a wind attack knocked him off his feet. "This is getting us nowhere."

This required a change of tactic... But what? What would be the best way to attack bird like Shadows?

Birds...?

"Yukari," their leader shouted, the voice of authority coming to him as he hit some inspiration. "I'll take over healing."

"Alright," the brunette stated as her Persona enhanced legs allowed her to avoid another attack. "What should I do?"

"Give me a sec," the blue-haired teen replied as he saw Junpei getting back to his feat.

It was time to take advantage of his unique skills. He realised that he could use this talent once Apsaras had joined him. However there hadn't really been a reason to use the technique... Not until now. He passed his gladius into his off-hand before drawing his Evoker and bringing it to the side of his head; however this time as he pulled the trigger he had two Personas in mind.

_Cadenza._

He heard the healing tune as suddenly he felt refreshed and his body felt much lighter.

This time Junpei dodged the wind attack aimed at him.

However this was only one side of the problem now was the time to finish this off. "Yukari," the teen called. "Aim for their wings."

"Got ya!" the brunette replied as she took a breath, lined up her shot on the already injured Shadow and fired. The cobalt-haired teen's plan ended up working out as the Shadow, unable to keep in flight due to the damage, crashed into the floor. "Alright! It worked!"

The two males didn't waste any time as Orpheus and Hermes both smashed into the prone Shadow, destroying it instantly. Yukari didn't waste her time celebrating either as she lined up a shot on the second flyer, letting the arrow fly and watching as this Shadow fell to the floor as well.

It was then she noticed that the third Shadow was making a dive on her.

The blue-haired teen noticed as well as the Shadow found itself a victim to Orpheus' musical instrument. Although the blow wasn't enough to cause the creature to crash, it did put it out of its attack run on the biggest threat. Junpei, not missing the chance, made a mighty swing at the Shadow that was down, leaving a diagonal slash from the creature's undamaged wing to its lower body. While it didn't kill the Shadow, it did mean that it wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

Now that just left one last threat.

"Yukari!" the blue-haired teen shouted. "Your 10 o'clock!"

The brunette turned her bow already primed as she locked onto her target and let her arrow go, her aim stayed true once again causing the Shadow guardian to plough into the floor.

"Get back here you son of a...!" Junpei screamed as the group turned on the two felled opponents, the resulting brawl, which resembled something that would have fit into an old anime, taking the final two opponents out of the picture.

As the three Shadows disintegrated into nothingness the brunette slumped to the ground. "You okay?" the black-haired teen asked as he slumped next to the prone junior.

"I'm alright," she replied as she took a few breaths. "That just took it out of me."

"I guess we should call it a day then," the cobalt-haired teen replied as he sheathed his weapon. "At least we won't have to worry about the first few floors next time."

"Heh, you got that right," Junpei replied as he removed his cap and wiped his brow.

After a few more moments getting back their breath, the group made it back towards the terminal. However, there was now a worry in the head of the man placed in charge of this

exploration. These were the guardians of the 5th level of Tartarus, and they'd had difficulties dealing with them.

What else would the tower throw at them?

--

_Sunday, 26th of April 2009. DH:52_

"I don't understand," the lead scientist stated as he watched his two subordinates frantically checking the anti-Shadow machines connections once again. "There are no noticeable faults, but it still..."

"You weren't expecting her to be active straight away were you?" cobalt eyes locked on to the scientist with a look of mild disgust. "She isn't a mere machine; the anti-Shadow weapon is powered and run by a mortal soul. You can't just plug a Papillion Heart into it and then expect it to work straight off the bat."

The heir sighed as he saw that the scientist had thought exactly that.

"Metis, the soul inside that heart, must get used to what you have installed her into. Her soul must learn what it has become and accept it before it will allow her to gain consciousness. It won't happen instantly. Hell's teeth it could even take months or years."

"Years...?" the scientist replied, suddenly downbeat.

"The Kirijo Group has one anti-Shadow weapon left, and from what we can gather it suffered a critical system shut down during the ninety-nine incident." Ryoji turned to look at his advisor. "They tried to reactivate it in two thousand didn't they?"

"Indeed," the advisor replied. "From the records we could gather they ran the reactivation procedure in early two-thousand, the unit still isn't active."

"Nine years!" The scientist turned to the body in shock. "But that's imp..."

"Haven't you been listening? This isn't a computer that you just turn on with a flick of a switch." The heir shook his head, disbelieving that this group of scientists were toying with this technology without even knowing the most important details. "Metis will take control in her own time. Until then all we can do is make sure that the body we are putting her in is as good as we can make it."

"But..." the scientist started to object as the heir started to leave the chamber, his advisor by his side.

"Inform me the moment her systems start to activate," the heir ordered. "I want to be here when she wakes up."

The scientist nodded in reply before noticing that the heir was leaving. "Mochizuki-sama, where are you going?" the scientist asked as he watched the heir pulled out a cell phone.

The teen smiled as he watched the display become active. "I have things I need to plan," the heir stated as a string of constant beeps erupted from the handheld device. "You know how to contact me."

Having finished his button pressing the heir left the facility with a smirk on his face.

--

_Monday, 27th of April 2009. 07:48_

Last night had been exhausting; luckily none of the group seemed to be in too bad a state. That meant that he could get back on track with his planned Tartarus nights. However, he'd learned over the years that life sometimes takes these sort of plans and throws them out of the window. Plus it was probably a good idea to keep things flexible in case they needed more time.

This was going to be hit and miss until he could figure out what everyone could take.

"Morning... Ugh, I'm so drowsy on Mondays..." he heard a student near the gate state to her friend.

"Didn't you say the same thing last week?" her friend pointed out. Minato started to move on before the new topic caught his attention. "Is that special morning assembly today? How come we're having one? We just had one last week..."

"Remember how great Kirijo-Sempai's speech was last week?" the first student stated, not answering her friend's question.

"Oh yeah, that speech was awesome!" the second student stated, taking a brief pause before admitting. "Although, I didn't understand most of it..."

The blue-haired student let a small smile light his face.

The gossiping student leaned against the wall. "What I heard was, the principal got jealous, so he scheduled his own speech to compete with her."

"Seriously!? What's up with that? Why do we have to suffer because of his ego!?" her friend hissed through gritted teeth.

The rest of the conversation was interrupted by the school bell.

However there was one thing that had caught the teen's interest. The principle didn't want to be upstaged by Kirijo Mitsuru. Not surprising really, as her family pretty much owned the school and the principle probably saw the redhead as a threat to his authority. While this would be a

bigger issue for the redhead in question, it did also have some impact for S.E.E.S. Because the chairman was running the group as a secret club, there was a high chance the principle didn't know about it. This could cause problems; for example if they were caught at school after the curfew. If the principle was that worried, he would use any valid reason to expel the heiress and if it was a situation where the rest of S.E.E.S. were involved, then there was a chance that they'd all get expelled in order to try and show some impartiality.

The best bet would probably be for the teen to try and get some 'Get Out of Expulsion' cards sorted so the principle had less to work with. Also, a chat with Mitsuru wouldn't be a miss, since there was a slim chance it wasn't a problem she was aware of.

His cell phone beeped, indicating it had received a text.

After reading the teen wished he'd just ignored the alert.

'_Nii-San. Will be seeing you on Wednesday. Wish me luck with the female population. R'_

That was today down the pan.

--

_Monday, 27th of April 2009. 09:11_

The assembly seemed to be different than last time. After all, it was being held together by a teacher and not a student, and some of the earlier items had put half the school to sleep. However, the teen was more interested to see if the gossip he'd heard on the way in would bear any fruit, and if so, check to see how bad it was.

"Now to finish this morning's assembly. Our principal has some words he'd like to share with you," the announcing teacher stated. "Please give him a warm welcome."

"...Thank you," the principle told the other teacher as he took his place behind the podium.

"What's the deal with the assembly?" Yukari asked from her seat behind Minato. "...You think it's about the recent incidents?"

"Who cares?" Junpei casually dismissed the query. "The Principal doesn't know anything about the Shadows, anyway. I just hope this doesn't take too long..."

Maybe it would be wise to have a word with the black-haired junior about not mentioning Shadows in front of large groups of normal people.

"I know," Yukari whispered back, either ignoring or missing the slip up by their friend. "His speeches always drag."

"Ahem. Today, I'd like to tell you about my, um, vision for this school year," the principle started. "As you are aware, strange incidents have been reported on the news lately. It is my firm belief that none of you are involved."

The teen had his limits tested as he desperately avoided snorting at the man's proclamation. This was one of the best schools in the city, with pretty steep tuition costs and a beaming reputation, and while, like all schools, it would have a few trouble makers, it wasn't going to have ones that caused such incidents... On another thought, with S.E.E.S. coming from here he might not be too far wrong.

"However, if we want to better our school, then we all need to accept responsibility for change. Dig deep down inside, and tap into your imaginations. ...But don't lose touch with reality. As they say, 'There's no use crying over spilt milk.' This is the key to reaping all the rewards that school has to offer..."

This sounded too familiar. In fact he was positive that the message behind it was exactly the same as...

"Wait a minute..." Yukari whispered from the seat behind him, as she caught on to the same thing the blue-haired teen had. "Doesn't this remind you of Mitsuru-Sempai's speech?"

Remind him? Hell, change a few words and take out the piece on the strange circumstances and it was pretty much the same.

The baseball-capped teen took a moment to recollect, as, to be honest, it was obvious that Junpei hadn't really been paying attention. "Yeah, you're right... What's up with that!?"

Minato let out a sigh. It was alright to feel threatened by someone; it was part of human nature. It was better if you weren't but even the blue-haired teen admitted that was too much to ask for anyone, himself included at times. He did have issues with people pushing their weight around to try and sate their feelings of inadequacy, but to do so and then copy the person you're frightened of was just silly. It usually made the situation worse.

Oh well. It was best not to worry about that too much.

After all, idiocy incarnate was t-minus seven days from hitting Gekkoukan High.

--

_Monday, 27th of April 2009. 12:06_

After listening to a particularly bad joke from Junpei, leaving him to worry that the Chairman's bad humour was contagious, Minato was pretty much ready to get something to eat ...even if it was only to get away from Stupei. His quest for food was, sadly, in one aspect, interrupted as the door opened and the school council president made her entrance.

Making a bee way straight for his desk.

"Arisato," she greeted as she reached his desk. "I'm sorry, but I need to talk to you after school. I have a special request for you."

"Alright," the teen nodded. "Here or at the dorm?"

"Here," the redhead stated before noticing that the eyes of the remaining class members were on her. "I apologize for being in a rush, but I don't feel comfortable asking anyone else. I'll tell you more about it after school, okay? Au revoir."

The teen gave a nod to the redhead before she left, watching as the whole class followed the senior's exit from their classroom. A few eyes belonging to most of the male populace... and one of the female students, curiously enough, had strayed a bit lower than was decent. It was fortunate that the teen had more resolve than that... not that the idea wasn't... Let's just say he wasn't the idiot.

Before the idea of Ryoji descending on an unsuspecting Gekkoukan could really hit home, he heard two nearby male students muttering to each other.

"Man, the new kid is such a ladies' man," target for death number one faux whispered.

"Takeba Yukari and the ice maiden Kirijo Mitsuru, both at the same time," target number two whispered back. "And they live in the same dorm. Man some people have all the..."

The second target stopped as he noticed the single eyed glare, promising all sorts of pain, aimed in his direction.

"Heh, maybe we should try for the..." The first target also stopped dead as he also noticed the glare.

Arisato Minato wasn't a violent man ...although he often wished more pain on people. However, at this moment, he'd give anything for his Evoker.

--

_Monday, 27th of April 2009. 17:09_

He had to wonder how Miyahara-Sensei got the job.

Obviously she loved mathematics, there was no doubt about that… but that love was a touch too excessive, and that was putting it mildly. There was also the fact that the teacher was having problems with even basic equations, a fact in and of itself that was frankly terrifying. Although it wasn't so surprising, when one thought about it, since the school board was chaired by Ikutsuki Shuji.

It some ways it was just like history.

Minato's thoughts were brought out of the inadequacies of the teaching body as he felt a presence next to his desk.

"I apologize for making you wait," the redhead stated, obviously trying to avoid a commotion like last time. "To make a long story short, I want you to join Student Council."

Right.

"Student Council?" the teen asked, as he saw the redhead nod.

"Well, it's not like you have to participate in every activity," she informed him. "Just come to the Student Council Room when you have the time."

"Why me?" Minato queried as he locked an eye with the heiress. If this was some sort of perk for joining S.E.E.S. then he wanted nothing to do with it.

"...Because of your leadership ability," the redhead admitted. "Being President is very time consuming. I'd like to have additional help available in the event of an emergency. You understand my situation... I'm asking you since you know what it's like to be a leader."

Although his senses were turned to reading people, he refused to believe them when they told him that the redhead was desperately trying not to blush. The worrying thing was that he knew that if he wasn't careful he wouldn't be able to say no to her, and considering the situation they were in that could be dangerous.

"Alright," the blue-haired teen conceded. After all this wouldn't be too big a deal.

"I knew I could count on you," the redhead let out a sigh of relief. "...I've already made an appointment for you with the faculty advisor. But, you'll have to go to the Faculty Office on your own."

He couldn't resist the chance to get a rise out of the heiress. "Getting a bit ahead of yourself there?"

"I'm sorry I made the arrangements without your permission, but I hope you understand the position I'm in." The redhead turned away from the junior. "Please go to the faculty office, Arisato. I'll be waiting for you in the Student Council Room."

"I'll see you in a few minutes then," Minato replied as he took his bag and headed for the exit.

He knocked of the door to the faculty office before sliding it open. As expected, Toriumi-sensei was waiting for him.

"Oh, Minato-kun," his homeroom teacher greeted. "Can I help you?"

"It's about the student council." The student went straight to the point.

"Ah yes. Kirijo-chan told me to expect you. Seeing as your grades so far seem adequate I don't see any issues," she stated as she looked over her desk, finally finding the form she was looking for. She placed it on her clipboard and passed it to the student in front of her. "All you need to do is read this and sign this piece of paper."

Minato took a few minutes reading the slip of paper; after all he'd already signed one contract without knowing the full meaning and he wasn't one for making the same mistake twice.

"Arisato Minato," Toriumi-sensei checked the signature; after all it wasn't that odd for someone to simply sign something with 'Mickey Mouse' or something equally as stupid for a laugh. "Alright then, leave the rest to me. Good luck with the Student Council."

"Thank you," the teen replied as he headed out the door.

He pulled the leaf from the Persimmon Tree he had gathered earlier out of his pocket. He'd have to wait another day before he showed it to the old couple who owned the bookstore and, hopefully, find out more about the reason the tree was there in the first place.

However it would be better to see what he was letting himself in for.

--

_Monday, 27th of April 2009. 17:14_

"Everyone, this is Minato Arisato," Mitsuru introduced the newest member of the council to the members who had bothered to turn up today. "He's the one I've been talking about the past few days. He'll be joining us in Student Council."

"Arisato-kun, huh..." She watched as the supervisor of the disciplinary committee gauged the newcomer.

Kirijo Mitsuru didn't get where she was by being stupid. She had learned to find out what drove people and use it to either get the best out of them or to further the school's goals. She knew it was manipulation, but in this world there were far worse evils and it was better to manipulate people so they would use their full potential than to leave things as they are. Some called it motivation but she was a bit more honest with herself; this was merely a form of training she needed before she could survive the world of business. Although it seemed minor, it was towards returning honour to the Kirijo name, even if the blemish to that honour was completely unknown to those she helped.

Odagiri Hidetoshi wanted to be the next Student Council President; she'd known that for most of last year, and had seen his attempts to get the required endorsement. She'd been worried about it since the best option he seemed to have would be the P.E. teacher, and there were concerns about how that devious old bastard would use the situation to his own advantage. She'd been

wondering what would be the best way to handle it, and the only way she could think of was involving Arisato Minato.

Arisato was good at reading people, as she knew from the whole induction palaver. It wouldn't take long for the teen to figure out what was going on. It also helped that the teen had a good head on his shoulders and common sense. He would be the best to handle it if Odagiri got out of hand in his quest for his required endorsement.

... Well those were the reasons she was giving herself for getting him involved in the council, and she would be sticking to them.

"I'm Odagiri Hidetoshi." Arisato nodded in acknowledgement as she had expected. "I supervise the Disciplinary Committee."

"Erm... I... I'm Fushimi Chihiro, the Treasurer." There was another problem; Chihiro hadn't really had much of a choice but to join the council. She was earnest, which is why she'd make such a good Treasurer, but she lacked confidence. "I'm a sophomore, and um... I'm still learning the ropes, so... please be patient with me, Arisato-san."

Mitsuru allowed a small smile to leak through her mask.

'_If you don't want to say anything, that's fine. I have things I don't really like talking about either.'_

If anything you couldn't say that Arisato Minato wasn't patient.

"Nice to meet you Odagiri-san, Fushimi-san." Nice diplomatic start, allow them to be ones to say when you can call them by familiar titles.

"...You must be quite talented if the President hand-picked you." Good, Arisato had caught Odagiri's interest. This would make things easier. However, she had to wonder why Arisato had stiffened slightly and why she had felt a slight variance in his power levels.

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Emperor Arcana..._

She didn't know it but a new bond had been formed.

"...Today, we'll stick to introductions," Mitsuru explained bringing things back on course. "It'll be your job to help us, Arisato."

"Right," the teen deadpanned.

"From now on, you have my permission to enter the Student Council Room whenever you need to, that includes after school, too," she stated. "Thank you, Arisato, for joining us today."

The teen merely smiled as he was drawn into a chat with some of the other council members.

She watched her object of interest for a moment before she realised something. In all the years she had been training her skills of reading people, she'd never come across someone quite like Arisato Minato. His ability to keep his thoughts to himself was frankly amazing and she found herself in a position she'd never been in before. She didn't know what drove this man.

And she didn't know why that made him so much more appealing in her eyes.

**End of Chapter 6**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Competed version edited by Vocarin

Review Q&A:

Ominae: _'Wonder what other toys do he have besides miniature EMP grenades?'_

Well that's the wonderful thing about the Mochizuki family. With all the technology the companies are involved with it does leave the heir open to having access to some of their research. I guess the real answer is wait and see.

Unknown: _'You know whenever I look at the different _Persona_ the main character is able to equip to himself I sometimes can't help but try to imagine the reactions of that the party members would have when they see it come out for the first time. Such as the Succubus _Persona_ or how about even Arahabaki?'_

Narcissus is the best example for that in my opinion. There's a Persona who doesn't wear much clothing and tries to distract her opponent while casting by showing her breasts. Seeing as all the Personas are supposed to represent a facet of Minato's soul it does make you wonder.

Megaolix: _'Interesting... So what, Metis will be with Ryoji and act on his behalf when he can't show himself?'_

Partially right, Metis will have a few things to bring to the changing plot, although I can't really say too much as it'll take away from when you find out in the main story.

RPFarseer: _'I also like how your bringing in things from Fes, but I wonder how your going to work in Metis this early in the also. I also pose the question how S.E.E.S is going to act to Ryoji this early in the story?'_

As stated in this chapter it'll take a while for Metis to really start having some dialogue, let alone showing up outside the lab. As for how S.E.E.S. will act to Ryoji well that's going to be an interesting one. Ryoji isn't a mysterious exchange student like in the original plot, he's a well known yet still mysterious heir to a family run conglomerate and as such Mitsuru will know him my reputation at least. Also due to what he's doing he's not going to want to draw too much attention to himself... However this is Mochizuki Ryoji and some things never change, so we'll see.

Ominae: _'I wonder if the good guys would gain access to firearms since most Persona-based games do have good guys using sidearms and SMGs'_

'Fraid not. Bullet shooting projectiles are going to be mostly coming from Aigis and Takaya. Although there could be some non persona users who use such weapons but they'll be minor.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Well I'm back from London and the British Motor Show (which was great even though Aston Martin didn't show up). The only down shot of being down in London for the past few days was the lack of internet access (the place I stayed had a homehub and as most of you should know it is shocking bad) as such I'm a bit behind of things as a result.

However on a good note, with this chapter complete we're now done with April! So that's 25 days out of 306ish done and since I'm roughly getting a week done for every two chapters that means that the 2nd full moon is going to hit in chapter 10. On other notes thanks to Vocarin for editing this piece, as of when I started this chapter he had finished editing chapters 1 to 5.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 7: **

_Tuesday, 28th of April 2009. 07:56_

Feeling rested, the blue-haired student made his way through the other students towards the school building. He'd had an early night; after all they were planning on making another attempt up the tower tonight, so a good night's sleep would be useful to say the least.

"Arisato." He turned to see the red-haired heiress of the Kirijo Group signaling him over.

"Morning," the teen greeted as he approached her.

"Good morning," she returned the greeting before asking, "...Have you acclimated to our school yet?"

The teen allowed a small smile to leak from his mask of indifference. "I'm managing."

"I see. Your ability to adapt to new situations and environments is very impressive," the redhead complimented. "As you know my free time has become quite limited since I took on the role of Student Council President. Although this shouldn't affect our usual excursions, there will be times where I won't be able to organise everyone for Tartarus."

"Don't tell me that tonight is one of those nights," the blue-haired teen replied, starting to get fed up with his plans going down the pan.

"No, not tonight," the redhead assured him. "However there is an event on Friday that will keep me from being available."

"Well that shouldn't cause too much problems," the teen replied. "Have fun."

"I doubt it," the redhead muttered as they started to head into the school building.

"Oh?" Minato replied. "You'd rather sit on your own in a Shadow infested tower watching as three bumbling explorers try and get themselves killed?"

"Yes," the heiress replied immediately. "At least being at Tartarus is in some way productive."

"Well let's hope it isn't too awful for you," the teen replied as he started to head up to the second level. "See you later sempai."

"Goodbye Arisato," the redhead replied as she headed her own separate way.

--

_Tuesday, 28th of April 2009. 17:36_

The blue-haired teen once again found himself entering Bookworms, the second hand bookstore in the Iwatodai stripmall. Partially because they might have some new stock in, but he also wanted to find out what this persimmon tree was all about. He removed the clear bag from his pocket that held a leaf from the persimmon tree. Hopefully showing the old couple this would allow him to gather some more information on why the tree was there.

"Welcome to Bookworms." The teen saw the old man behind the counter, looking up in greeting. "How many guests? Smoking or non-smoking?"

Okay... How do you respond to that? "Err..."

It was then that the man realised why the teen was holding in his hand. "Hm? Excuse me, but may I see that leaf in your hand...?"

"Sure," Minato replied as he removed the leaf from the bag and passed it over to the older man.

"Oh! Is this a leaf from that persimmon tree?" the older man asked as he admired the leaf. "It must have grown quite a bit to produce such splendid leaves..." There was a moment's silence before her turned his attention back to the teen again. "...Wait, so you didn't come here to buy books? Did you come here just to show us this?"

Well technically he hadn't come just to show him the leaf; after all he did buy books here as well. "Well that's not the only reason..."

"Nah-uh, I don't believe you." ...Right. The teen released a sigh, realising that the old man was going to stubbornly stick to his own reasoning. "I knew right from the start that you're a kind young man!"

It was hard for the teen not to blush at the praise the old man was raining down upon him. "You're giving me far too much credit." After all the teen had only shown the man the leaf to curb his own curiosity... and the fact that if he was lucky there could be a discount in there somewhere.

"Nonsense. I've been meaning to go see that tree for a while now, but I'm not sure if these stumpy old legs will make it that far..." Maybe this man was related to the Chairman. "...That wasn't meant to be a pun. You know, "stumpy," "tree stump." Catch my drift?"

"Very clever, dear," the old lady, who had turned when Minato had passed over the leaf, humoured her husband.

"Allow me to introduce my wife Mitsuko," the old man gestured towards his wife before introducing himself. "And I'm Bunkichi. If you don't mind, would you tell us your name?"

"Arisato Minato," the teen introduced himself with a slight nod. "Pleasure to meet you."

"So your name is Arisato Minato," Bunkichi repeated in a murmur before his eyes lit up as he came to a conclusion. "Then, we'll call you Minato-chan from now on!"

Chan... He almost asked the old couple not to. It was a suffix that hadn't been attached to his name for a very long time; only his mother had used it and that had been before... well. There was also the fact that he almost considered it a bit girly. However there was an odd warmth coming from within him after hearing it from the old man. His mother had never known any of her relatives and his father's side... well saying there were problems there would be an understatement.

Best to leave it that way for now.

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hierophant Arcana..._

A new bond had formed.

"It's getting late," the teen replied as he looked out of the window. There was a Tartarus run tonight and it would be best to make sure that he gave everyone enough warning.

"We're open every day except Sunday," Mitsuko told the teen. "Come visit us if you get bored."

The teen grinned as he bid the old couple farewell. He'd be back, partially for the collection of books and also to discover more about the persimmon tree.

However, the was something else to deal with before that.

There was Tartarus.

_Tuesday, 28th of April 2009. 18:36_

"S'up dude." The teen turned to see Junpei and Mitsuru were sitting on the couches surrounding the table near the window. "Yo! I heard Mitsuru-sempai asked you to join Student Council! Sempai, are you sure you wanna let this slacker in?"

"Slacker?" If _that_ wasn't the crow calling the raven black…

"I simply asked for his assistance. I don't intend to burden him with too many responsibilities," the redhead stated calmly as she turned her attention from her book to the baseball-capped teen. "Why, are you interested in helping too, Iori?"

"Oh, uhhh... I'll pass," the suddenly flustered teen replied before trying to placate the heiress by adding. "But, thanks for the offer."

The blue-haired teen couldn't keep the grin from lighting his face.

"Oh Arisato..." the redhead, deciding to save the black-haired teen, quickly changed topics. "The internet line which was ripped apart by the Shadow will be fixed tomorrow."

"That's good to know," Minato stated, wondering if his laptop still worked after the strange power surge from that night.

"If you have a computer in your room, you should be able to connect." The redhead seemed to be thinking on the same wavelength. "...Well, that takes care of everything that was damaged... except, of course, Akihiko's rib cage."

The blue-haired teen sighed. "That's a pretty big exception."

"Speaking of the internet..." Junpei jumped in. "You play any online games, dude?"

"Online games?" ...Why would he play online games? Most of his life he'd lived with having to survive an hour without any form of electronics except a small timepiece. Why would he play something that was supposed to be a time sink full of repetition?

"You know, those games you play with a buncha people ya never met before. I was totally addicted to this one game, but then I got burned out..." the black-haired teen explained as he started to rummage through his school bag. "Here, you can have it... It's called 'Innocent Sin Online'."

"Why do you have an online game in your schoolbag?" Minato asked as his visible eyebrow arched.

"Just got it back from Kenji," the teen replied with a smirk. "For some reason he's been returning stuff to the people he's borrowed from and he's paying back money he'd borrowed. I wonder why?"

"I wonder," the blue-haired teen replied as his mask of indifference hid his real reaction to that piece of info. In a way he wondered if the brown-haired junior would speak to him again anytime soon. "Anyway Mitsuru-sempai, I'm thinking about a run through Tartarus tonight."

"I expected as much from our conversation this morning," the redhead replied. "Alright I'll let everyone know. I'll see you outside the gates just before midnight."

The teen nodded to the two teens as he moved towards his room to prepare.

--

_Tuesday, 28th of April 2009. DH:04_

Having entered the tower the blue-haired teen had entered the velvet room again, this time under the cover of organising his Personas, which was sort of true as the old man had implied that his power had something to do with the teen's ability to summon multiple Personas.

Well he was about to find out.

"Ah, there you are," the old man greeted the teen. "Welcome to the Velvet Room."

He waited for the young man to be seated fore he continued.

"Well... I suppose it's time for me to explain what I really do here. It is my job to create new Personas," Igor explained. "But in order to do so, I must fuse your Persona cards together... In other words, I shall merge them into a single Persona."

"Cards?" Minato asked.

"Indeed. In the Velvet Room your current Personas are changed into cards," he answered before he continued. "Furthermore, if you've established a Social Link, you may be able to create an even stronger Persona. So, as you accumulate cards, please bring them to me."

"Alright," the teen replied as the old man reclined on his couch.

"How may I help you?" Elizabeth asked.

Minato seemed to be there for a while checking what he could do with the cards he had.

--

_Tuesday, 28th of April 2009. DH:42_

The run was going smoothly; on their way up they hadn't run into anything they couldn't handle, although there had been a few close scraps where, despite luck not being on their side, they pulled through, and that was important. Minato was also finding it easier to use the gladius he'd accrued from the police station. Seeing how things were going it may be time to give that longsword some practice.

But now wasn't the time to be thinking about that, they'd reached the tenth floor.

"I'm detecting three powerful signatures," Mitsuru stated as the blue-haired teen moved forward.

"Another guardian floor then," Minato stated as he moved towards the terminal.

"In all likelihood." The redhead replied. "Be careful."

"Don't worry so much sempai," Junpei replied. "We're just gonna kick these things in the ass."

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Yukari stated, not at all eased by Junpei's confidence.

"Here's the plan:" The cobalt-haired teen cut through the incoming argument, "Activate the Terminal, Beat the Shadows, meet up with Mitsuru-sempai, get back to the dorm and then enjoy a mug of hot chocolate."

"Hot chocolate?" Junpei asked, with a smirk on his face.

"There's nothing quite like a good mug of hot chocolate." A grey eye locked onto the baseball-capped teen, almost daring the teen to disagree.

"Heh, if you say so boss," the taller junior replied as the blue-haired teen headed over and activated the terminal.

"Right, let's see what we're up against," Minato turned back to the task at hand, tightening his grip on his weapon of choice.

The trio cautiously moved down the only corridor, already expecting an attack. However when it did come it wasn't what the group was expecting.

Minato dodged to the left before releasing a vicious counter on the Shadow that had attacked him. Although the blow struck true it failed to cause the Shadow to stumble, which frankly wasn't the result he was hoping for. Junpei took advantage however and released a strike of his own, leaving the Shadow visibly hurt.

"It's like The Thing had a mating session with some sixties disco fabric," Junpei stated as he avoided a strike from one of the other hand shaped Shadows.

"The Thing?" Yukari asked as she released an arrow into the injured Shadow, knocking it off its feet.

"You know the Adam's Family!" As he drew his Evoker. "Hermes!"

The Persona answered Junpei's call as it slammed into the Shadow, which then disintegrated into nothingness. However this wasn't really picked up by Yukari as she stared at the taller of the male juniors. "Adam's Family?!"

"Yeah... Oww!!" The black-haired teen replied as a blast of wind knocked him off his feet, leaving him with a bloody arm. "Oh come on Yuka-Tan! It's repeated on M.G.M. classics every day!"

"Stupei!" the now irate girl called as she drew her Evoker and after a second of hesitation pulled the trigger, allowing Io to heal the injured moron. "Stop watching rubbish American TV programs!"

"Hey watch what you're calling rubbish!" the black-haired teen yelled back before his attention was drawn to the incoming Shadow. "Oh crap."

"Stupei!" Yukari shouted as she quickly notched an arrow to hopefully disrupt the charge, that plan went out the window when she found herself having to avoid an attack from the other still active Shadow. Junpei closed his eyes and the Shadow lunged; this was going to hurt.

The attack never came.

The teen opened his eyes to see the appointed leader of the group standing over him, the Shadow having been skewered on the blue-haired teen's gladius. He watched as the teen flicked his blade, causing the Shadow to fly into the wall and evaporate in a cloud of black dust.

"You alright?" Minato asked as he offered the prone teen his hand.

"Heh, thanks Minato, you're a life saver." The two males turned to the final Shadow, which was still going at the brunette with vigour.

"Personas on my mark," The blue-haired teen stated as he passed his blade into his off-hand and drew the silver gun-shaped device.

"With ya boss." Junpei replied as he followed suit.

"Mark!" Minato shouted.

Two triggers were pulled; this was quickly followed by Hermes and Orpheus descending on the final hand like Shadow. To say it didn't have a chance would be putting it mildly.

"You okay there Yuka-Tan?" Junpei asked as the group consolidated their position.

"I'm fine," the brunette assured. "Nothing that a nice warm bath and a good night's sleep won't handle."

"Heh, well it's lucky that tomorrow is a holiday?" Junpei stated as he gave the corridor a quick scan before the group started to move back to the Terminal.

"Mitsuru-sempai," Minato stated as he pressed a button on the transceiver. "We're heading back."

"Alright. I'll see you in a few minutes," the redhead responded.

A small smile lit up the team leader's face. "Just get in contact with Akihiko-Sempai and get him to put the kettle on." The teen replied causing a laugh from the other two members of the group.

--

_Wednesday, 29th of April 2009. 11:42_

Well there was one good thing about having a day off after a night in Tartarus and that was the fact that you could sleep in. Minato had never been one for doing so, after all he'd spent a quarter of his life in a boarding school and such holidays were usually ignored for the habitants. Buts he was more than happy to enjoy a well deserved sleep in after taking out another set of guardians from Tartarus.

However, it was time to get up.

Which just left the question: What should he do for the day?

Hanging out with Junpei wouldn't be a valid option as the teen would probably not be awake for a long while yet, he didn't want to give Yukari any ideas, he wasn't in the mood to go running through Iwatodai with Kazushi, Kenji wasn't even talking to him again yet, Akihiko-sempai was still in a bad mood from being 'bedridden' and he didn't really have a good excuse to try and spend the day with Mitsuru...

Oh hell not this again.

If Junpei was to ever find out how bad this was becoming he'd never hear the end of it.

The thought of Junpei actually gave him an idea; the teen had given him that online game yesterday before they headed out to Tartarus last night. Although he still had his doubts, at least he'd not be paying anything for the trial period, so what the hell.

He opened the disc case and placed the installation disc into the try on his laptop, giving it a second for auto-play to actually work before he set the installation program on its way. He left it running for a while, getting himself a drink from the fridge as he waited for the files to copy across. Finally, after the game had finished installing, he had created an account on the website and given the manual a quick once over, Minato double clicked on the icon allowing the game to start.

_Innocent Sin Online_

_v1.0_

_Game Patch Required..._

_Downloading ISOPatchv1.0-v1.2.324 0.1 MB of 1423 MB_

The teen sighed this was going to take a while...

--

_Wednesday, 29th of April 2009. 12:37_

_Patching complete please restart Innocent Sin Online._

Well that was that done. The blue-haired teen pressed the ok button under the message and watched as the game engine reloaded.

_Innocent Sin Online_

_v1.2.324_

_Game Patch Required..._

_Downloading ISOPatchv1.2.324-v1.3.842 0.1 MB of 823 MB_

Eh? Hold on, why didn't the bloody thing patch straight to this version in the bloody first place?

The teen turned from the computer to look for his welcome pack, hoping that there were no bandwidth charges for using the internet.

--

_Wednesday, 29th of April 2009. 13:28_

_Patching complete please restart Innocent Sin Online._

As they say: Third time is a charm.

_Innocent Sin Online_

_v1.3.842_

_Game Patch Required..._

_Downloading ISOPatchv1.3.842-1.4.027 0.1 MB of 623 MB_

That meant that it didn't work at all...

The teen smashed his head down on the table.

--

_Wednesday, 29th of April 2009. 14:48_

_Patching complete please restart Innocent Sin Online._

Minato had come to a conclusion, this game's installation process was designed to consume the trial period. Wondering if this was worth the trouble the teen hit the button.

_Innocent Sin Online_

_v1.4.027_

_Game Patch Required..._

_Downloading ISOPatch1.4.027-1.4.058 0.1 MB of 57 MB_

Oh for fuck sake...!

--

_Wednesday, 29th of April 2009. 15:14_

_Patching complete please restart Innocent Sin Online._

Right, that was it. If this bloody thing asked to be updated again this time he was going to uninstall the game, nuke the drive from orbit... 'it's the only way to be sure' ...and find Junpei and show his appreciation for wasting three hours and thirty two minutes of his life by sticking the disk case somewhere unpleasant.

_Innocent Sin Online_

_v1.4.058_

_Please enter your Username and Password._

Finally!

The teen inputted the required information and watched as a message came on his screen.

_Reality is just a series of events and players acting out what they believe is real._

_When we accept that fact, our world becomes "reality."_

_Reality is but a reflection of our thoughts and expectations._

_...But, what if we were merely reflections in another's mirror?_

_Are you prepared to look through that mirror to discover the truth?_

_Ian Bidan – Project Manager and Author, Whirlwind Game Productions_

The teen read the statement, partially confused as to why this game was feeding him this un-skippable rubbish after all the time he just spent getting the damn thing to work. Fortunately for his laptop the screen changed to the character design screen. After choosing a medium sized, male human fighter with blue hair, Minato pressed the accept button allowing the client to bring him into the game's world.

_Welcome to Lunarvale Hospitale._

_There are 1 player(s) in the area._

Minato took a moment to adjust the graphics to the highest his computer could handle without struggling, a bit surprised that the client hadn't allowed him to do so before he actually started to play. Having set it to his liking the blue-haired teen played around with the controls, trying to familiarise himself before he named his character and then started trying to level up. However before he could even finish his character creation he noticed a young woman in grey approaching.

_-AReporter- says: Sup xD_

The blue-haired teen took a moment to translate what the newcomer had actually typed before he opened the manual, looking for the required action to write something for the chat channel.

_-AReporter- says: asl...? oh wait, r u a nub? u r, huh? _

Finally finding what he was looking for the teen responded

_Says: Sorry, I was trying to figure out how to respond. Yes I'm new._

_-AReporter- says: oh wow. u haven't even finished generating your char yet... oO_

_-AReporter- says: welcome to teh game! good thing i'm using my low level alt_

The teen let out a light chuckle, before typing.

_Says: Thanks._

_-AReporter- says: i think its jus u an me, this is kind of a dead MMO these days xD_

Dead? Well in a way it was to be expected. After all the servers had been running for over 4 years, so most of the old timers would have burned out like Junpei. When you add to the fact that the installation process would put off most sensible newcomers, you had a game which lost its player base with no new blood coming to fill the void.

_Says: Oh really? It's not popular anymore?_

_-AReporter- says: sry. i got kinda ooc there 0_

_-AReporter- says: we r supposed to be our "alternate selves" rite? uhhhh... yeah /_

Fair enough.

_-AReporter- says: sooo... what r u gonna call ur char? we can meet up later_

That was a good question. The teen had never really been great at thinking of unique names for this sort of thing. During the short period the teen had started to use the extra hour that he endured to try and write some short stories. Even though they weren't bad, or as the idiot had stated after he'd stolen the notebook the teen had used: 'This doesn't suck too much.'

_Says: Any ideas?_

_-AReporter- says: hm... hey, i got a good name for u 3_

_-AReporter- says:...how bout tatsuya? kyahahaha! that's good, imo_

Tatsuya... He had heard that name before.

_-AReporter- says: i'll change mine to maya, k? D_

_-AReporter- says: have a little deja vu? ;P_

The teen laughed, finally remembering where he had heard those names before. They were main characters in the Innocent Sin games Ian Bidan had designed before the company changed its focus and started designing the online game. He brought up the character sheet and entered the choice in the character name section.

_Tatsuya says: Heh, that's clever._

_Maya says: o rly? i'm impressed i didn't think many people played that!_

_Maya says: well, if u see any jokers, be sure to rescu me, k? y_

_Maya says: it's been a while hehe. i played that game soooooo much in college TT_

_Maya says: oops. hope u can't figure out how old i am--rofl!!_

That pretty much meant that this payer was old enough to be his mother or father. No, her mannerisms screamed out that the woman in front of him was being played by a female, although the spelling said otherwise.

_Tatsuya says: Heh._

_Maya says: ne way, i'm usually idling here on my days off... _

_Maya says: so if ur bored, maybe we can level together. it sux to be lonely P_

Too true...

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hermit Arcana..._

Somehow, although Minato couldn't be sure how, a link had been formed ...by playing a video game.

_Maya wants to be your friend._

The teen smiled as he opened the communication screen and accepted the friend invite.

_Maya says: sry, gtg \_

_Tatsuya says: Alright, I'll see you next time._

_Maya says: remember, let's think positive! traesto! xD_

With that Maya was gone.

Seeing as the place was now dead and he didn't really feel like starting the grind when he only had half an hour before dinner, the teen logged off the server.

A smirk lit his face. In his first foray into the world of Innocent Sin he had: Spent far too long getting the game running, set up the graphics, practiced the controls a bit, stolen the name of a well known character from the series and befriended a slightly mad woman who was old enough to be his mother.

Not bad for a day off.

--

_Thursday, 30th of April 2009. 17:14_

Deciding that turning up for Kendo Team occasionally would get Kazushi off his back in regards to running during lunch, Minato entered they school gym and tried on the kendo garb that Yuki had prepared for him. Satisfied with the fit, he took the shinai from the team manager and took a few practice swings and strokes, familiarising himself to the difference in this weapon compared to the metal gladius he had been using during the exploration of Tartarus.

"Turned up, have you?" the coach asked as he noticed the newest member.

"Sorry," the teen replied. "I was going to come yesterday and on Friday but things came up."

"Fair enough," the coach replied. "Oi, Kazushi!"

"Yes sir?" the athlete replied as he moved towards the pair.

"Give Minato here a quick sparring session," the coach ordered. "Don't go easy on him; I want to see how good he is."

"Got you," he replied with what the blue-haired teen could only call a feral grin appearing on the junior's face. "I hope you're ready for a pasting, Minato-kun."

"Let's refrain from using thrusts until we know how good you are Arisato," the coach stated, which was fair enough since the only place you could aim a thrust at was the throat, or Tsuki, and when you didn't know how good or controlled one of the swordsmen were, it was best to play it safe.

The teen held in a sigh since the look he had received from his opponent was far too eager in his opinion. Even so he took his position preparing from the star swordsman to make his strike.

The fight ended up drawing the attention of the entire team, and although Minato was not used to handling a two-handed sword, his experience from Tartarus paying off in leaps and bounds. As he expected Kazushi used a robust style, relying on his footwork, parrying, precision and power. When he had noticed this the first time he wondered how well the teen would be able to handle the evade-and-counter approach.

After the session was over, he had his answer.

Although Kazushi was superior in many assets, his power ended up being his downfall, Minato's relaxed stance had worked as he had expected as the other swordsman had taken it as inexperience and had released several powerful strokes in order to teach the blue-haired teen not to keep his guard down. This was answered by a simple deflection of the first attack, followed by a sidestep evasion to the left and a classic overhead swing aimed at the head. Kazushi managed to block the intended strike, although in doing so his footwork left him off balance, as such when the athlete followed-up with a horizontal strike Minato was ready as he placed his weight on his back foot and used his shinai to deflect the blow over his head. His opponent lost his balance as the swordsman had expected, as such it was far too easy for Minato to move his shinai and bring it into a diagonal strike aimed at the right side Kazushi's torso.

The group looked had looked on in surprise, not having expected the newcomer to win the first point... Or, he would have if he had called out the target. "You need to declare in order to score the point Arisato!" the coach yelled.

It had pretty much carried on like that, although Kazushi started to adapt to his opponent and as such started to score some points back. However there was one last thing that let him down; Minato was used to being efficient with his actions and conserving his energy. Since his opponent had started to go all out, he was getting tired, and this left more openings in the athlete's defence for the blue-haired teen to take advantage of. As such it would probably be a good idea to stop since none of them would learn anything with Kazushi in this state.

"M-My side is killing me," the athlete complained as he pressed on the mention area with his hand.

A smirk appeared on the blue-haired teen's face. "Toughen up," he stated.

The black-haired teen's eyes widened before a smile lit his face. "Toughen up, eh? Humph...! Alright then!" The teen then changed the focus back to his opponent. "How 'bout you Minato-Kun?" There was a pause while Kazushi tried to regain his breath. "You okay? You've been working pretty hard..."

The teen placed his shinai with the others. "I'm fine."

"You don't even look tired," the athlete stated in mild disbelief as he took in another deep breath. "Wh-What sort of training have you been doing?"

Minato wondered. How would you put the fact that you spent your nights fighting in a nest full of monsters, which would feast on your mind and leave you a soulless husk if you failed? A full out grin formed on the teen's face as he replied, "Special training."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," The other teen responded. "Otherwise I wouldn't be like this..."

"I should be asking you if you're okay," Minato stated as he looked at the athlete in concern.

"Minato... You're crazy," Kazushi stated, and to be honest, considering what the teen did outside of school, he was inclined to agree. "This sucks, you've destroyed me."

"Oh come on. You can still walk." A silver eye was alight with mirth as he watched the other teen complain.

"I knew the Bay Area competition would be tough, but I never expected to be going up against someone like you..." Kazushi continued to moan before he came to a decision. "...I've made up my mind! Minato, one day I'm going to beat you!"

"Good luck," the teen replied as he felt a surge of power run through him.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Chariot Arcana..._

His bond with Kazushi had become stronger.

"Sorry... I shouldn't get so worked up over it," The athlete stated as they started to put their gear away. "Let's go... Urgh!"

The blue-haired teen turned from the pile to see Kazushi looking wearily at his feet. "You okay?"

The black-haired teen snapped out of the trance he had fallen into before he responded, "...My knee... I think I twisted it..."

"Want to have the nurse look at it?" Minato asked with a hint of worry.

"Nah, it'll be alright," Kazushi waved it off as they continued towards the exit. "...Oh, sorry, I'm wasting your time. Let's go."

As the two teens left the gym, Minato was sure that his new rival wasn't as okay as he was stating.

--

_Thursday, 30th of April 2009. 18:02_

"Minato-kun."

Hearing his name being called the teen noticed Yuki by the lockers was waving him over. "Nishiwaki-san," he greeted as he moved up to the Kendo Team's manager.

"I told you to call me Yuko," the teen replied with a slight smile. "You live on mainland Iwatodai right?"

"Yes," the teen replied as he adjusted his school bag.

"Well my house is over that way too," the Ganguro stated before asking. "Well want to walk home with me?"

He didn't really see an issue with what the girl was asking. It was probably a good idea to try and form a good friendship with the team manager.

"Alright, I don't see a prob..." as he started to reply his cell phone rang, giving her a look of apology the teen flipped open the phone and brought it to his ears. "Hello?"

"Hello?" He heard a recognisable voice coming from the other end. "This is Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth-san," the teen greeted. "How did you get my number?"

"Oh, we have our ways," the pale-haired elevator attendant responded before she explained why she had phoned. "Please come to the Velvet Room. There is a matter we need to discuss. You may use the alternate entrance located in Paulownia Mall."

"Paulownia Mall," the teen checked.

"All you must do is find the door," she stated before she wrapped the conversation up. "...I'll see you soon."

"Later," the teen bid the strange woman farewell as he ended the phone call. He quickly turned his attention back to the girl in front of him. "Sorry about that."

"Problem?" Yuko asked, although the teen knew what she really meant was 'Who was that?'

Quickly thinking up a good excuse the teen slid behind his mask of indifference. "That was my social worker," the teen lied through his teeth. "She had a habit of checking up on me with no warning."

"Well, okay then," the Ganguro replied, unsure of the situation. "I guess I'll walk home with you some other time."

"Maybe after the next time I'm training with the Kendo Team," the teen assured as he started for the doors. "See you later, Yuko-san."

"See you later Minato-kun." With the young lady gone, a serious look spread over Minato's face as he headed towards the mall, wondering what the residents of the Velvet Room wanted with him this time. As he approached the mall he looked around, wondering where the entrance to the secret room had been hidden. After a short amount of time looking around the mall he finally found the door he was looking for in a small alleyway under the Karaoke Bar.

He opened the door and once again found himself within the elevator known as the Velvet Room.

The first thing he noticed was that Igor was asleep.

"Welcome," the elevator attendant greeted the visitor. "I must apologise for my master. However he is not the one who has requested your assistance. Please take a seat."

Minato took his usual seat, allowing Elizabeth to serve him a cup of tea before he finally brought up the question that was on his mind, "So how can I help you?"

"I am truly sorry to bother you, but... I have a request," the elevator attendant started. "I have been looking for someone with exceptional strength. It has been quite some time since we've had a visitor worthy of our attention. If you don't mind, will you accept my requests?"

"Requests?" the teen queried as he sipped on the cup of Earl Grey in front of him.

"There are several matters in the real world which require attention," she explained. "Due to my duties here I am unable to take care of these matters myself. However, you have proven yourself to be highly capable, and as such, I have no doubt that you will be able to attend to these matters to the standard I require."

The blue-haired teen contemplated for a moment. "I take it that there will be rewards if I complete a task up to your standard?"

"Of course," she replied. "Once each request is completed, I will have a reward for you. I anxiously await your cooperation." The attendant slipped a thin notebook across the table.

"Well let's see what tasks you want me to do for you," the teen stated as he opened the book and started to read through the entries she had written in.

Minato spent a while in the Velvet Room, drinking Earl Grey and reading through the requests that Elizabeth had put in front of him.

The old man didn't wake up until the teenage visitor had returned to the real world.

**End of Chapter 7**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Competed version edited by Vocarin

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Sorry I lied. I know I said that chapter 7 would be the end of April however I found myself unable to resist writing up the first Elizabeth outing after Minato had opened the book of requests. Not much else to say really as not too much has happened apart from the fact I've 'acquired' a copy of the Persona 4 soundtrack and it's pretty good, why Yumi Kawamura only does stuff for the Persona series I have no idea.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 8: **

_Thursday, 30th of April 2009. 18:23_

"Elizabeth-san?" the cobalt-haired teen asked as he read through the book of requests.

"Yes?" the lift attendant asked as the teen flipped around the book and highlighted a single entry.

"Can you explain number fifty-six please?"

--

_Thursday, 30th of April 2009. 18:40_

Arisato Minato found himself in a worrying situation. He had agreed to show Elizabeth, the elevator attendant from the Velvet Room, a woman who spent most of her time in another dimension, around Paulownia mall.

"Ah, yes... An intimate encounter with one of your world's rarities...!" the white-haired woman stated as they left the alleyway where the door to the room resided. "This must be a 'fountain'..."

"Um... yes," the teen responded, wary of the woman's enthusiasm.

"It makes sport of water, well known to be the foundation of life... How wicked!" she stated before she launched into another fact that she had heard; "It's rumoured that its enchanting nature grants wishes to those who sacrifice a few coins..."

"That's a superstition," the teen stated before a small smile lit his face. "I think that it would take more than a few coins to have a wish come true."

Minato didn't realise just how much more complicated that little comment would make his life.

"Is that so?" the attendant asked as she looked at the fountain in consideration. "It is possible that the value, or perhaps number, of the coins is insufficient to pique the fountain spirit's interest..."

Thinking that she was done, the teen turned to look around the Mall, wondering what would catch the odd woman's interest next.

However he was completely wrong to think that Elizabeth was done with the fountain. "Fortunately, I anticipated this and brought a good supply of coins." She pulled a bulging purse out of a pocket of her coat. "Two thousand of your five hundred yen coins to be exact."

Two thousand multiplied by five hundred... That would make it...

"I shall make an opening bid to the fountain spirit of one million yen." With that pronouncement the visitor to this world tipped the purse, allowing a torrent of coins like a waterfall into the fountain.

The teen was dumbstruck; Elizabeth was emptying the equivalent of his monthly allowance from his trust fund into a fountain in a shopping mall. He turned to see a couple, who had been sitting on a bench beside the fountain, watching the events unfold with a look of dumb shock.

He was almost expecting them to dive into the fountain.

The cause of the commotion stopped suddenly, a confused look on her face. "Ah...! I was so caught up in the excitement of tossing in coins, that I hadn't given my wish any thought." The teen escorting the woman brought his hand to his face as he was unable to contain the groan he emitted. "This won't do. I shall give it more careful consideration before I return here in the near future..."

It was hard to keep his jaw from hitting the ground as the elevator attendant turned away from the fountain, as if she hadn't just emptied about a third of her coinage into the damn thing.

"Hm? What is this facility here?" He turned from the fountain to see Elizabeth heading towards the police station.

"That's the police station," the teen replied, the look of worry couldn't be hidden by even the most perfect of masks, lit his face as he rushed after her.

"There are some stern faced gentlemen inside," she stated as she peered through the window before her attention turned to the posters on the windows. "And these photographs displayed so prominently... Most Wanted... Reward..."

She took a moment to contemplate before she asked the next question.

"Am I... correct in thinking of these as your version of my subjugation requests?" She turned to look at Minato, an almost innocent look on her face.

The teen had read some of the subjugation requests within the book of requests, and it was basically the same thing, although the requests Elizabeth posted were bloodier. "Pretty much," the teen finally settled on.

"What do they use as proof that the target has been subjugated?" She speculated. "If they truly parallel my requests... Do they require a piece of the body?"

A smirk lit the teen's face wondering what this world would be like if that was true.

"My interest is piqued," she stated as she browsed the window.

A pang of dread filled Minato's heart as he suddenly had a feeling that the elevator attendant was about to enter the police station to ask the officers that question in person.

Luckily her interest didn't stay on the station for long as she noticed something further down the mall.

"This edifice over here..." she started as she moved up to the entrance to Club Escapade. "It can't be... is this... a 'club'!?"

"That's right..." the teen replied cautiously. However before he could add anything else he was cut off by a wave of over-enthusiasm.

"Dancers, dictated by the sway of one's inner passions... A subterranean garden of uninhibited spectacle." She gasped in surprise as she realised that it was closed.. "No... It's not closed for business now is it?!" A pout appeared on her face. "Such a pity, I had hoped to join in on the wild ritual..."

Obviously she had been looking forward to it. So much, in fact, that she decided that dancing outside the club would be good enough in her eyes. The teen took a look around, sighing as he noticed that the white-haired woman's antics had drawn the attention of the whole mall.

"Ooh! That was quite satisfying," she stated as she finished before she had a good look around, all the while completely oblivious to the group of people who were now watching her. "But I am overwhelmed... Everything looks so new and inviting; everywhere I look something catches the eye. If you wouldn't mind maybe you could recommend our next activity?"

"Well the arcade is supposed to be very good," Minato suggested, deciding that getting the elevator attendant out of the limelight was the best course of action.

"This 'arcade'... I have heard of it before," she stated. "I recall it described as a playground where one sports with electric fairies in exchange for tokens."

Well that was _technically_ right...

"I have also heard that they contain games where one controls a bird to win prizes... I am eager to see it." Her excitement however was curbed as she noticed something to her left. "Ah, excuse me... Would you mind waiting for a moment?"

The teen looked towards the direction she was heading and his hand once again met his head as she spotted the fountain.

"...I wasn't aware that there was a fountain on this side as well," she murmured before she pulled out her purse and started to tip even more money into this fountain. All the blue-haired teen could hope for was that she didn't notice the... "Hm!? Yet another fountain, on the opposite side... I see so this place is a host to a trinity of fountain spirits."

With that the elevator assistant rushed across the mall and emptied the rest of her purse into the other fountain in front of a bewildered audience of shoppers.

"I apologise for the wait," Elizabeth told him as she made her way back over. "Let us continue."

The duo spent a long while in the arcade, with Minato showing the visitor the games and how to play them. It turned out that Elizabeth was very good at 'Dance, Dance Riot,' not surprising from the display she had shown outside Club Escapade. She also seemed to be deathly accurate with the laser guns on the 'Emergency Phase' game as well, although she was sad to find out that in the crane game you actually controlled a metal grappling arm and not a real crane.

Minato was having fun, both from the company of the white-haired elevator attendant and also, once he had accustomed to it, the strange things she did. As such it was bittersweet when the pair returned to the mall's entrance to the Velvet Room.

"Thank you for the invaluable experiences you have shared with me today," the attendant stated. ""I consider this mission fully accomplished."

"Good to hear it," the teen replied

"This may sound forward, but..." Elizabeth stopped for a second to contemplate before she continued. "I'd like to accompany you again sometime."

"I'll make room in my schedule then." Although next time the teen would make sure he picked up the odd woman at a later time when there were fewer people around.

--

_Thursday, 30th of April 2009. 20:04_

'_...this resulted in officers from the local station having to intervene. In the ensuing scuffle two officers received minor injuries. In a statement made earlier by the station spokesman Officer Kurosawa it was confirmed that four people have been charged with theft, damaging private property and assaulting a police officer.'_

"Oh hey, dude," Junpei greeted as he finally noticed the teen standing in the doorway.

Minato looked to see his dorm mates, without exception, were glued to the TV.

"Hey, Minato-kun," Yukari greeted before she started to explain. "There was an incident in Paulownia Mall."

Paulownia... Oh don't tell me...

"For some reason a people started fishing coins out of the fountain," Akihiko joined in. "A pretty stupid thing to do when there a police station right there."

The blue-haired teen kept his composure, slipping behind his mask. "Right." It was all he could do to stop panicking as he already knew the reason why people had started to fish in the fountains.

"Wonder what happened to cause this?" Junpei asked. "No matter how stupid you are, you don't jump into a fountain for a pile of shrapnel."

Depends how much shrapnel is in there.

'_New information on the Paulownia mall incident... Let's go to our reporter on the scene.'_

'_Thank you. We're expecting a joint statement from the management of the Mall and the 'Make a Wish' charity who receives the coins left in the mall's fountains as a donation. Ah it's just starting now...'_

The group watched as a middle aged man in a suit walked up to the podium placed in front of Mandragora.

'_Thank you for your patience. Today after six-pm a mystery donator used the fountains in this mall as a method of making a substantial donation. I am proud to announce that Paulownia Mall now holds the highest daily donation to the Make a Wish charity with a total of one million, one thousand, three hundred and seventy yen. Compared to the mall's usual daily contribution we can only estimate that the donator had donated one million yen between all three fountains...'_

"One million yen!" Junpei yelled out, looking at the others to confirm that he had heard right.

"Heh," Akihiko muttered before adding in his two rin. "I'd have probably have joined in as well if I had known it was that much."

"That has to be the most ineffectual way of donating money I have ever heard of," Mitsuru stated before she turned back to her book.

"We're bothered about the _amount_ of money being donated and Mitsuru-sempai is only bothered by _how_ it was donated," Junpei pointed out before he said a potentially deadly comment. "Heh, that's the rich girl for you."

Oh, but if looks could kill...

'_...and although we are grateful for this fantastic donation, we must ask for the safety of the public that such donations are given directly to either the management of Paulownia Mall or to the charity in person. Thank you for your time.'_

"Well can't blame them," Akihiko stated.

"Yeah, it isn't the best way to hand over that sort of money,v" Yukari agreed as she carried on watching the piece. "Hey they have a witness!"

Minato turned back to the TV and saw what he was afraid of; it was the couple who were sitting on the bench near the fountain.

'_...please tell us what you saw.'_

'_Well it was a lady in a strange blue outfit. She pulled out this large purse and started to pour coins into the fountain.'_

'_Did she explain why she was doing this?' _

Minato really hoped they hadn't.

'_Not really we weren't really paying attention to them. Something about fountain spirits and wishes.'_

'_Them?'_

'_Yeah she was with some school kid...'_

The interview was cut across as the feed went back into the news studio.

'_I'm sorry but we have just received some leaked security footage showing our mystery donator.'_

The group all watched as an image of Minato idly standing to the side of Elizabeth shown on the TV. Luckily it wasn't a shot of them entering from the alleyway, but it did show Elizabeth emptying a good portion of her purse into the first fountain.

'_Here is a person whose wish deserves to come true.'_

Minato kept cool as the attention was shifted from the news article to him. He simply had two choices; come clean or lie through his teeth. Considering how unbelievable the first option really was, he quickly decided on option number two. With his course of action decided he kept with the story he gave Yuko this morning. After all, when you were lying the best idea was to keep your lie consistent and then stick to your version, come hell or high water.

"Err... Yeah, that's Elizabeth-san, my social worker." The teen smoothly lied, as if the event was an everyday thing. "She's prone to doing things like that from time to time."

--

_Friday, 1st of May 2009. 07:56_

Minato hated summer uniforms.

It wasn't the uniform per se, rather the loss of pockets to store things in. After all, the teen didn't like to keep items in his trouser pockets. It was more an aesthetic thing really, since his trouser

pockets weren't really big enough for his wallet as such it left a bulge and getting the damn thing out was a pain in the neck. There were also financial reasons for his decision. On several occasions in the past the teen had to store his mp3 player in his trouser pockets in schools where the dress code wasn't as tolerant. Because these pockets were tight it put extra strain on the wires of the headphones and he'd found himself having to replace them far more early than he would otherwise would have had to. As such, while the teen had taken to wearing a short sleeved shirt, he still wore his school blazer. If it did get too hot he'd just take a page from Akihiko-sempai's book and drape his blazer over his arm.

After having spent a long time last night lying through his teeth about the events at the mall, and calmly explaining that such things were common from his slightly barmy and far too wealthy 'social worker,' although the teen did have to wonder where she got that sort of money from, the teen wasn't looking forward to school today.

"Hey, Arisato!" The teen turned to see a student he'd never even spoken to before call at him from across the school yard. "Can your friend give me some money?!"

"She only supports good causes," the teen replied as he headed into the building.

"Yo, dude," Junpei greeted the teen as he arrived in the homeroom.

"Morning," the teen replied as he took his seat.

"You're gonna be in for a long day dude," Junpei informed the teen as he nudged his head to indicate a group of gossiping girls who were watching the teen while giggling.

Great… Just what he needed.

Luckily he was saved from any embarrassing situations as Toriumi-sensei entered the room.

"Alright everyone take your seats," she told them as she moved to the podium.

With that the lesson began.

Although he had to admit that it felt nice that the student body wasn't talking about him dating Yukari or Mitsuru for a change.

--

_Friday, 1st of May 2009. 17:03_

Deciding that sticking around school for the Student Council or the Kendo Team would just be asking for trouble and when you added in the fact that Kenji was still avoiding him, which was becoming ridiculous, the teen was considering either going home or taking a trip to Bookworms. He packed away his stuff, giving any male students who approached him a glare which instantly

reminded them that they had something far more important to do, and completely ignoring the female students as, for some reason that he couldn't fathom, they found his glare a turn on...

"FYI, Akihiko-san's at the hospital getting a checkup," Junpei told the blue-haired teen, breaking him out of his thoughts. "He called me earlier, and asked me to bring him something. Yup, he knows who to count on."

Right...

"He only asked you cuz you don't have anything else to do after school." The two teens turned to see Yukari walking up to them.

Ouch.

"H-Hey, I resent that," the black-haired teen stuttered.

This only brought a chuckle out of the brunette. "I'm just kidding," she assured the junior before she asked the question that was on her mind. "So, what'd he want you to bring?"

"The class roster for 2-E," Junpei answered.

"What's he want that for? ...Well, I don't have practice today, so I'll go with you," she decided before she turned to look at Minato. "You're coming too, right?"

He contemplated for a moment before deciding to go for it. "Well, I've not got anything better to do, and staying after school probably wouldn't be wise."

"That's because you know the 'Million Yen Fountain Lady,'" Junpei elaborated.

"The 'Million Yen Fountain Lady'...?" the blue-haired teen shot back, the tone of his voice showing that he couldn't believe that the lanky junior had just said that.

"I'm quoting here," The black-haired teen stated as they started to leave the homeroom. "Kenji was stoked to see his mate with an older rich woman."

"Oh so Kenji is talking to me again is he?" A silver eye lit up with mirth.

"He thinks that his influence is rubbing off on you," Junpei replied with a chuckle.

The teen only shook his head. "Well that's Kenji for you. Let's go."

And with that they were off.

--

_Friday, 1st of May 2009. 17:43_

It took a while for the trio to reach Tatsumi Memorial Hospital, mostly because Junpei stopped the group on occasion to bring up yet another inane topic. After finally reaching the hospital, and after Minato had assured the nursing staff from his ward that he was perfectly fine, they were directed to the room that Akihiko had been placed in while he was being checked on.

As they reached the room, however, they were greeted with the sight of an unknown teenager wearing a long, red jacket and a black beanie hat sitting in the visitor's chair. It wasn't hard for the blue-haired teen to detect the hostility coming from the occupant; the airs he was giving off were distinctly unfriendly.

Minato knew a barrier when he saw one. This person was throwing up this barrier of hostility as a form of protection, just like he used his mask of indifference, Mitsuru used her ice cold shields, and Akihiko used his confidence and desire to fight. He couldn't be sure; after all, he didn't really know the man, but he was sure that he was detecting a feeling of sadness and weariness leaking through.

Although intimidated, Junpei still tried to get some info out of the guy. After all it was best to find out if they had gone to the wrong room rather than just standing there and looking like idiots. "Umm... Is... Akihiko-sempai...?" The teen paused at the glare being directed at him. "...in this room? By any chance?"

The silence was palpable.

"What are all of you guys doing here?" The trio turned to see Akihiko standing by the door.

"We came to see you!" the brunette stated in a chirpy voice, the feeling of tension suddenly forgotten. "But... it doesn't look like anything's wrong with you."

Sometimes Minato had to wonder. After all they saw Akihiko-sempai everyday and he was perfectly fine, otherwise he would have been readmitted instead of just coming for a checkup.

"I'm just here for a checkup," the teen replied as he moved further into the room.

As he did the other visitor stood up from his chair. "Is that it, Aki?"

The boxer regarded the other man for a moment before answering, "Yeah, thanks."

The visitor let out a sigh as he started to head for the exit. "Tch... I don't have time for this shit." Junpei almost jumped out of his skin in order to get out of the guy's way.

Once the coast was clear Junpei asked the question they all wanted to ask, "Wh-Who was that?"

"A friend from school... sort of," the senior responded before he went into an explanation. "You know how the number of Apathy Syndrome cases has been increasing? Well, he knows a few people who are suffering from it, so I was asking him about it. Hey Junpei, did you bring what I asked?"

The teen lit up as he pulled the roster out of his school bag. "Of course, Sempai."

"Thanks," the teen replied as he took the list and placed on the bed.

"How's the ribcage?" Minato asked as he leaned against the wall.

"It's getting there," The silver-haired boxer responded before taking a few practice jabs.

"Uh, you shouldn't move your arm..." Junpei told the older teen as he watched in worry.

"It's nothing," the boxer dismissed the rare show of concern from the lanky junior. "I've wasted enough time already. I need to get back to my training."

"Yeah!" Junpei instantly turned from concerned to hyper-active. "Gekkoukan's golden boy! He was born to be in the ring!"

Minato could only shake his head. Junpei still found ways to amuse him without even trying.

The boxer in question however simply stared at the junior in question. "Sometimes, I really don't get you."

"By the way, Senpai, why boxing?" Yukari asked.

"You mean, why did I choose that sport? Well..." The boxer took a moment to contemplate. "It's not the sport itself I like; I just wanted to learn how to fight. I know what it's like to feel powerless... and I don't want to feel that way again. Besides, I'm curious to see how strong I can get. It's like a game, only I'm competing against myself."

If you ignored the person or thing you fought against.

"That's an interesting way of looking at it." Junpei commented. "Ya know, I'm into games too..."

"Yeah, VIDEO games," The brunette cut across with the scathing remark.

Junpei's defence was pretty pathetic. "Hey, they're good for hand-eye coordination!"

... Yeah, right.

--

_Saturday, 2nd of May 2009. 08:49_

On the way into school Minato contemplated the way the events of his past had shaped him. Being able to fade into the background gave him the advantage of picking up conversations from others without it looking like you were eavesdropping.

"Golden Week starts tomorrow," the female student in front of him stated to her friend. "Have you got any plans?"

The problem was most of the time it was boring rubbish, and he was glad that he could just retreat into to his mp3 player most of the time.

"Ehh... Not really," her friend replied. "But I'm not gonna miss tomorrow's show!"

Show?

"Oh, yeah! You mean Tanaka's show, right?" The initial student watched as her friend nodded in confirmation. "When I hear that jingle, I can't resist buying something... I never miss it when it's on Sunday afternoons. I'm about to go broke!"

A TV shopping program. It was bound to be rubbish, but it could be worth checking out. After all, it was always interesting to see what bilge someone would fall for these days.

The blue-haired teen entered the school as the bell rang.

--

_Saturday, 2nd of May 2009. 17:27_

As Minato was leaving his homeroom he noticed Chihiro, the Student Council treasurer was standing by the notice board. Since he'd started at Gekkoukan and had gotten involved with S.E.E.S. he'd resolved to be slightly more open to making friends and so far it had paid off. As such greeting the younger girl was probably the best thing to do.

"Afternoon Chihiro-san," the teen greeted as he moved out of the doorway to allow the other students through.

The student literally jumped. "Oh, Minato-san," she greeted as she finally noticed who had called her. "Um... ...C-Can I help you?!"

The teen threw a small sigh as he relaxed his stance to a less threatening position; the girl was spooked enough as it was. "I noticed you standing there and thought that we could have a talk."

The response wasn't what the teen had been expecting. "I-I-I don't have anything to talk about!" Chihiro nearly screamed. "...Oh, um..."

Right...

"...I'm sorry..." the teen apologised, but still couldn't think of anything to add.

There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment as the teen tried to gauge the situation, and, after finally coming to the conclusion that Chihiro was probably scared of his attempt to talk to her, he decided the best thing was to back away for now.

"It's alright," the teen stated. "I'll see you later."

Well, that was telling. He could tell that Chihiro was unsure about herself in the Student Council meeting, the signs were quite obvious. However, the fact that the treasurer was scared of men had completely gone past him. Although he didn't know exactly why he wanted to do it, he felt the need to help this girl with her confidence problems, and to do that he'd need to have another crack at speaking to her. It would be best in that case to leave it for another day, so she had a chance to calm down.

He didn't know exactly why he wanted to help the younger student but to be honest he did have an idea and it went back to the days before he had discovered the idiot.

Because in a way she reminded the teenager of himself.

The teen didn't turn around to notice the confused look on the treasurer's face.

--

_Saturday, 2nd of May 2009. 18:14_

Once again Minato found himself entering the second hand book shop, Bookworms.

The old man on the till looked at the teen noticing who it was. "Oh, you came back! Welcome, um..." He paused; sadly his memory wasn't as good as his eyes. "What was your name again?"

"Minato," the teen answered, deciding to let him off.

"I'm just joking. I know who you are. I'm not that old." Minato wasn't really sure if Bunkichi was covering or not, so he gave the old man the benefit of the doubt. "My wife and I were just talking about you, Minato-chan."

"Should I be worried?" the teen asked.

The owner merely laughed. "Not at all, Minato-chan. We were just wondering; do you like Melon Breads?"

"Melon Bread?" the teen echoed. After receiving a nod from the old man, he replied, "They're not bad."

The old man brought out a basket still half full of the inexpensive bakery product from behind the counter. "Someone gave them to me, but I have more than enough," he explained before offering the bowl to the customer. "Go ahead, take one."

The teen looked at the basket for a moment before he took one of the baked treats. "Thanks," he said as he placed it in his school bag.

"Don't worry about it; it's just a Melon Bread. There's no need to thank me," the old man admonished the young customer. "Minato-chan, you're so polite. I wish HE had been that way..."

He?

Who was 'He'?

The old man looked at the basket once more before he offered it out again. "Do you want one for a friend too?" He took a pause before explaining. "...Because it'll take us forever to finish them all."

The teen relented and helped himself to another of the buns.

"Alright, here ya go. Um... uh... err..." The old man paused again before he asked an all too familiar question. "What was your name again...?"

The teen merely sighed as Mitsuko turned from cleaning a shelf to aid her husband. "Remember, dear? This is Minato-chan." She then turned to the teen and offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Minato-chan. He's terribly forgetful lately."

"It's alright," the teen said. "I'm just going to check the stacks."

With that the teen started to look through the stacks for anything to do with small squad tactics.

After a few minutes though, something Bunkichi said grabbed his attention. "...Where did he run off to, dear?" He turned from the stack to see the old man looking around the rear of the store. "He should be here helping customers... I'm sorry, Minato-chan."

"No problem," the teen waved off the apology before asking the question that was now niggling at his mind. "Who is 'he'?"

"Our spoiled son. He hasn't been back in a while." A look of loneliness filled the owner's face. "Where did he go, dear?"

It was when the teen looked at the female member of the couple he realised something was very wrong.

"Must you, dear...?" she replied as she looked at her lap, her expression giving a silent plea for the older man to stop.

Minato kept quiet, not entirely sure what he could say in the situation.

"...Oh, that's right. Our son is deceased..." Minato closed his eyes, which pretty much explained that. "My apologies, Minato-chan. I hope I'm not making you feel uncomfortable."

Sometimes he wished he wasn't so inquisitive. It led to him being inconsiderate and causing situations like the one he'd just seen.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hierophant Arcana..._

Even so he could feel the bond he had with the old couple growing stronger.

"H-hey, hey, why the gloomy faces?" the old man asked. "It's dark outside. I don't need it to be dark in here too."

The teen tried to smile at the old man's attempt to lighten the mood. "Well I have to get going."

"...Please come again. We'll be waiting for you, Minato-chan." Bunkichi bid the teen farewell as he made his escape and started for the dorm.

Now he really needed to smack something down in Tartarus tonight.

--

_Saturday, 2nd of May 2009. DH:14_

"Another one of these rooms, eh?" Junpei stated as the group made it onto the fourteenth floor.

"I'm detecting a single strong presence," Mitsuru called over the transceiver. "I guess telling you to be careful would start to become a bit old."

"We'll be fine sempai," Yukari stated as they made their way over to the terminal. The blue-haired teen quickly activated it before they started towards the corridor that led to the next level.

Only to find a huge Shadow armed with two big spikes blocking their path.

The thing charged at them, its torso spinning so it gave momentum to the spikes as it spun towards the three explorers, who sensibly decided diving out of the way would be a good idea.

"I see you caught the guardian's attention." Sometimes he couldn't be sure if Mitsuru was being deathly serious or simply had a strange sense of humour. "It's Arcana is the Chariot."

Chariot, so it was pretty much resistant to physical attacks. A point proven as a strike from Junpei just resulted in an almighty sound with little damage, and Yukari's arrow simply bounced off the surface.

"Well, that did jack," Junpei stated needlessly as he moved out of the Shadow's melee range.

Typical since he had finally brought his longsword out to play.

"Stick to magic," Minato shouted as he pulled out his Evoker. "Yukari I'll leave healing to you."

With that he pulled the trigger and Orpheus was called.

He watched as Orpheus pulled his harp from his back, playing a small tune before he launched a bolt of energy at the Shadow. As planned the bolt hit and he knew that for a while the Shadow's offensive power would be weakened.

His action was rewarded by the Shadow hitting the entire party with lightning.

Well that could have gone better.

"You okay dude?" Junpei asked as he helped the teen back to his feet.

"I'm alright," Minato replied as he formed a shifting card in his hand, brought it up to his face and shifted Apsaras to the fore of his mind. "But I think I better not use Orpheus here."

"That's mucked up right now," Junpei said as he pulled his Evoker and called Hermes to throw a ball of fire that their foe.

"Oww… that stung," Yukari stated as she got back on to her feet.

"I've got you covered," Minato told them as he formed Orpheus into a shifting card and sheathed his blade before he drew his Evoker. Bringing the card to his face he crushed it before firing his Evoker and allowing both Orpheus and Apsaras to materialise at the same time. After their tune the party felt a lot better and much lighter.

"Alright," Yukari stated as she too used her Evoker to call on her Persona. "Io!" she called as a blast of wind hit the Shadow, doing minor damage.

This was going to take a while

--

_Saturday, 2nd of May 2009. DH:23_

"Evening," the heir greeted as he took a seat next to the unmoving mechanical body. "You look as lovely as ever, Metis."

He didn't receive a reply and to be honest he wasn't expecting one.

"Heh, you sure know how to shoot a guy down," Ryoji chuckled to himself.

He'd been coming to see and talk to Metis during the Dark Hour since the night of the procedure that installed her Papillion Heart, the official reason being that maybe some human interaction would speed up her activation process. The real reason was slightly more selfish.

Here, alone within the soundproof walls of this contained lab, he could talk to the machine about everything.

Talking to someone who didn't reply wasn't as difficult as people would have you think, especially for someone who talked as much as Ryoji did. Of course, he had an advantage, seeing as he had done much the same thing already in the past. Granted the first time had been to help someone precious to him escape the darkness that threatened his soul.

But in reality was this any different?

"I'm afraid I won't be able to come and see you as often," the teen apologised. "As of Monday, I'll be a student of Gekkoukan High and I'll be keeping an eye on Nii-san."

Because of who he was, he never really had many people in which he could confide in. The only one up to now had been Nii-san, but with the events that had unfolded and the plans that had fallen into place he could no longer tell his brother everything, no matter how much he wanted to, because of the resulting risks. Since he had regained his memories, he didn't have anyone who he could truly talk to; he didn't tell the old men of the board anything, he didn't feel comfortable telling Ojii–sama, he kept Hiroshi-san in the dark for his own protection, and so his best bet was Nii-san who was many miles away, someone who was at the heart of most of the problems.

Because of what he was, he firmly believed that family was simply something you created with those that you cared about.

"You have no idea what sort of trouble Nii-San can get in to without me," he stated with a wry smile. "If he's involved in trouble I should be there with him."

So far the family he created had a grandfather, a twin, and a younger brother, but he had always wanted a sister.

Hopefully, now he would be able to add that sister he'd always wanted.

Oshiro Hiroshi watched as his charge continued to speak to the machine with a small smile on his face.

"That's strange," the lead scientist stated as he looked over his instruments again.

"What's strange?" the advisor queried as he moved over to the monitor that the scientist was analysing.

"Well we've been monitoring the activation progress for a while now, and it seems that a pattern is emerging," the scientist stated. "As you know the body we have provided are parts procured from the Kirijo Group, or that we have successfully emulated, substitutes that have been designed to replace parts we can get access to and upgrades we came up with."

"Go on," the advisor urged.

"From the activation progress we've seen so far, Metis seems to be able to initialise any pathways or systems that were from the original ASW with amazing speed. However, she then seems to stumble on any of the substitutes or upgrades." the scientist explained. "It's almost like she wasn't expecting them to be there, or was expecting something else."

The advisor turned back to look at his charge. "What are you getting at?"

"Oshiro-san…" The scientist stopped for a second before he continued. "If I was to guess, I'd be positive that this Papillion Heart has been plugged into an ASW before, and they removed it after it had started to operate."

"Which leaves us with a question," the advisor mused. "Why was the heart removed in the first place?"

--

_Saturday, 2nd of May 2009. DH:32_

"Just die already!" Junpei shouted as he had Hermes hit the Shadow once again with another fire ball.

"We're going to be here all night at this rate," Yukari stated as Io healed an injury on Junpei.

She had a point. At this rate there was a real risk that the party would run out of spiritual energy and if that happened they didn't really have anything that would have take it down. "Apsaras!" the blue-haired teen called as he fired his Evoker, causing the Persona to materialise and throw a lance made out of ice at the damn thing.

To say the party was surprised when the lance ripped through the Shadow's armour, causing the damn thing to turn into a cloud of dark nothingness, was an understatement.

"Thank god that's over," Yukari sighed as she slumped to her knees.

"I'm with you there Yuka-tan," Junpei replied as he leaned against the wall.

"Is everyone alright?" Mitsuru asked after giving the group a chance to regain their breath.

"We're fine, Mitsuru-sempai," Minato replied as he sheathed his longsword. "But I think that's enough for tonight."

"Alright," the redhead replied. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

Well that's another guardian handled. The rest of the tower could wait for another day.

--

_Saturday, 2nd of May 2009. DH:49_

"Hi." Minato looked around to see the white-haired boy was sitting on the side of his bed. "How've you been?"

"I've been better," the teen replied as he sat up.

"Is that so?" The child chuckled. "It's been a while. One week from now, there will be a full moon... Be careful," the young boy warned the teen as he shifted to the floor. "A new ordeal awaits you..."

"A full moon, huh...?" The teen thought about the comment. Hadn't the first attack come on the full moon?

"Yes, on such days you will face your greatest challenges," the child stated. "I see you have been preparing in case you ran into this sort of ordeal, time is of the essence... I'm sure you're aware of that, of course."

Minato watched as the child in white disappeared and formed near the Shadows once again. "Remember that question I asked you last time I visited?"

The teen quickly thought back before realising that he must be speaking about his questions about family. "Yes."

"Well, if you survive, I have something to ask you." The child turned shy. "I'll come see you when it's over. Goodbye for now."

With that the mysterious child was gone, leaving the teen wondering what the child was going to ask him.

--

_Sunday, 3rd of May 2009. 13:49_

Remembering that some of the students were talking about a TV shopping show, Minato turned on his TV and changed to the channel mentioned to confirm just what sort of rubbish they were going on about.

As he did he was welcome by one of the worst jingles he'd ever heard.

'_Here comes Tanakaaaaa' _

'_Over the airwaves to youuuuu'_

As the jingle continued a man appeared on the stage.

'_Hello, everyone! Welcome to the home shopping show, "Tanaka's Amazing Commodities"!'_

'_Granter of your desire!'_

Oh Hell's teeth, this was worse than he thought.

'_I'm your host, Tanaka, with a live presentation of my Amazing Commodities!'_

The man greeted as the jingle stopped.

'_We'll show you great items at unbeatable prices! Ooh, you won't be able to touch that dial!'_

The teen highly doubted the claim.

'_Let's bring out our item of the day! It iiiiis... Slash Ward! Oh my goodness! I can't believe its wonderfulness! But wait, there's more! We'll throw in 1 Sappy Jelly for only 2980 yen!'_

This was obviously a con. Only an idiot would buy something that overpriced.

"YUKA-TAN LEND ME A THOUSAND YEN WILL YA!" The teen looked towards the door as the noise vibrated the room.

Case and point.

'_That's it for today! We're allll sold out! Sorry, folks!'_

"NOOOOOO!!" The cry of anguish must have been heard for miles.

In the privacy on his own room Minato slammed his head against the wall.

After rubbing away some of the pain the teen decided to at least make some use of the day and turned off the TV. He made his way over to his desk and opened his laptop before clicking on the 'Innocent Sin Online' icon on his desktop. Having skipped the intro animation and entered in his logon details he had once again entered the Lunarvale Hospital and become Tatsuya.

As he got moving he noticed a familiar girl in grey walk up to him.

_Maya says: wb, tatsuya good to see u again_

_Maya says: u remember me rite? /_

The teen smiled as he typed his response.

_Tatsuya says: Of course. Good to see you Maya-san._

Minato watched as Maya's avatar did a silly dance.

_Maya says: this is exactly liek when maya and tatsuya remember. -b_

_Maya saya: hmm... what kinda people r we, playing inside on such a beautiful day?_

The teen held in a sigh. He was exhausted after their run in with the guardian last night, and he wasn't in the mood to go out.

_Tatsuya says: Sunshine is overrated._

Minato watched as her avatar laughed before he decided he needed to read more into this game and figure out how she was doing that.

_Maya says: HahaHAha!! dman straight! XD_

_Maya says: its not like we're otaku or ne thing irl ne way._

_Tatsuya says: Well I can only speak for myself._

_Maya says: lol... we're s'posed to be leveling, but we jus keep on chatting 3_

_Maya says: but hey, grinding gets old rite? its more fun talking to u, tatsuya._

Well she had a point; he was enjoying this conversation more that the game's 'grind-tastic' level up system. Maya seemed fun… if a little crazy.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hermit Arcana..._

He smiled as he felt his bond with the mysterious player growing.

_Maya says: zomg! ummm... i'll be afk for a while, so i'm logging off. sry!_

The teen simply typed his reply.

_Tatsuya says: No worries. See you later._

_Maya says: i forgot the big sale ends today x_

Well that pretty much landed Maya as a woman alright.

--

_Monday, 4th of May 2009. 07:49_

Honestly, Minato had felt a lot better when he'd gone to school this morning. Unfortunately things took a turn for the worse when he sat by his desk and could hear the room gossips muttering while they waited for Toriumi-sensei to come in.

"Hey, good news! Wanna hear it? I know you do!" the gossip stated before she continued without letting her friend reply. "I heard the boy who's transferring here today is a stud!"

Transferring… Oh crap, he'd forgotten about that.

"Really? Are you just messing with me?" her friend challenged.

"No! I heard it from someone who saw him filling out the forms," the teen confirmed. "And it looks like he's joining 2-F."

Oh fuck!

The bell rang, moments later Toriumi-sensei entered the class, the new student following her confirming the worst case scenario.

"Alright everyone, today we have another transfer student..." she started as the teen took his place by her side. "... Please introduce yourself."

"My name is Ryoji Mochizuki," the heir introduced himself with the most charming smile he could muster. "I would be grateful if you could show me the ropes."

Everyone turned towards the blue-haired teen as the thud of his head hitting his desk echoed across the class room.

He'd show the idiot a rope alright, just before he wrapped it around the little sod's neck.

**End of Chapter 8**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Completed with editing from Vocarin

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: I know, I'm making it so our heroes have to go to school during Golden Week, yes I'm mean. Anyway this chapter took longer than I had expected (mostly due to Ryoji's entrance and the social links on Monday), but I stated that the next one would be the second full moon and I like to stick to what I say... most of the time.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

_Monday, 4th of May 2009. 09:03_

"Minato-kun?" Yukari whispered towards the blue-haired teen a hint of worry in her voice.

"Minato-kun, that's not a nice way to greet someone, who you..." Toriumi-sensei stopped as she browsed over the heir's profile. "Oh! You two went to the same boarding school."

He refused to make another audible show of discontent.

"It's been a while Minato-kun." Ryoji stated from his place beside the teacher with one of his mischievous smirks on his face.

The other brother simply locked on to the newbie and gave him the greeting he deserved. "Idiot."

"You're so mean." The teen replied with a pout before a 'cough' brought the attention back to their homeroom teacher.

"Hey?" Minato heard a male student fail to whisper to the student beside him. "Doesn't the Mochizuki family run that huge conglomerate?"

There wasn't a reply from the other for a few moments before he finally came out with: "Yeah... I wonder what Arisato has to do with him?"

Oh hell... That could only mean that he was going to keep the attention of the school for longer than he'd thought.

"Well. You two can get reacquainted during lunch." Toriumi-sensei stated as she took back control of the room. "Ryoji has had private tutors for a long time due to family matters, so he may not be used to all of our customs." The teacher explained. "Be sure to explain them to him. Now then, you need a seat. Let's see... That one's open. Second from the left, in the front." She pointed the teen in the right direction.

"Um... Ms. Toriumi?" Yukari put her hand up, although she was still watching Minato with a look of worry. "Technically, that seat's taken..."

"You must be present to be a member of this class, so as far as I'm concerned, that seat is available." She defended herself. "Life is nothing but a game of musical chairs. The rest of you should be careful, too."

All the class apart from a blue-haired teen who was bust glaring at a silver-haired teen felt a shiver run down their spine.

After the new student had taken his seat, Toriumi-sensei decided that she'd best make sure something was done in this lesson. "Well now the drama is out of the way. Let's turn to page..."

_Monday, 4th of May 2009. 13:07_

Well this was going as well as he had expected.

"So... How do you know Arisato-san?" One of the female students asked with a flirty giggle.

The blue-haired teen had to hold a sigh. Since Toriumi-sensei had realised and told the whole class that they had been to school together, the idiot had taken that as a reason for the two teens to hang out in public, even though Minato had many other things he'd like to do with his time.

Like pull out his toe nails with a rusty pair of pliers, or having a one-on-one with one of the larger variations of shadows while only armed with a Nerf bat.

He was being too harsh, he knew that, but just for one day he'd like to be able to walk around school without something happening to make him the centre of the gossip mill. First there was Yukari and her 'Don't tell anyone about last night.' debacle, then the 'dating Takeba Yukari and Kirijo Mitsuru at the same time' mess, followed by the event that would forever known as the 'Million Yen Fountain Lady' incident and now he was linked to the heir of a bloody conglomerate.

He only hoped no one found out just how close his ties to the Mochizuki family were.

"Well." Ryoji threw the infamous 'Mochizuki knee weakening grin'. "Minato-kun and I we're in the same dorm for four years before I moved away..."

"You didn't move away." Minato cut across the idiot. "You were expelled after you were caught red handed putting sugar in the fuel tank of the principle's Mercedes."

The heir laughed nervously as the small crowd that had gathered around the duo looked at the heir with shock. "Well, I think I've grown a bit since then."

Right...

"Why did you decide to come here Ryoji-kun?" Another flirty girl asked.

"Yeah." A male student cut in. "I'd rather learn at home from tutors than have to come to school."

"It's not as nice as you think." The teen assured. "Plus I wouldn't have the honour of being in the presence of so many pretty ladies if I stayed at home."

The teen couldn't hold in a sigh as all the girls around the duo with a few notable exceptions started to giggle at the pickup line. Although there were some things that changed Mochizuki Ryoji would always be able to charm a lion so it would act like a puppy... Until it wised up to the act and bit his head clean off.

Well he could always hope... sometimes.

"Anyway Minato-kun." Ryoji turned to the reluctant teen who shared the centre of attention. "Care to show an old friend around."

"You'll drag me around with you even if I refuse, right?" The teen stated standing from his chair.

The heir turned towards the blue-haired teen with a cheeky grin on his face. "You know me too well!"

Taking stock of the situation and deciding that moving around would be a better idea than staying in the homeroom surrounded by giggling schoolgirls, the blue-haired teen only sighed as he stood up from his chair and directed the idiot to follow him.

It was a shame then that he had failed to realise that by pulling away the distraction that was Ryoji, the female members of his class returned to what they did best.

Spreading gossip.

--

_Monday, 4th of May 2009. 13:20_

"Oh come on Nii-san." Ryoji pleaded as the pair stood on the rooftop of the school overlooking the city. "You can't pin any of this one me this time, you're the one who slammed your head into your table."

The teen ignored the argument as he couldn't really figure out a decent reason for his actions and he wouldn't admit to the idiot that he was right. "You still haven't explained what you're doing here."

"I'm your support." The heir replied.

"Support?" Minato questioned as he moved to take a seat.

"I can't give you any of the details." The heir stated with an apologetic smile on his face. "Come on you don't seriously think that the Kirijo Group is the only one who's involved with that's going on do you?"

"So Mochizuki Enterprises are involved as well."

"Not exactly." Ryoji corrected. "It's just me from the Mochizuki side... I know what you're trying to do." The teen accused his brother.

"Oh?" Minato replied in a non-committal fashion.

"You're getting me chatty because you figure that I won't be able to keep my big mouth shut and I'll leak something." The heir calmly stated. "And you know what it would probably work, so I'm going to stop you before you can start."

"Well if you didn't want that then you shouldn't have told me anything." Minato argued back at the silver-haired teen, Hell's teeth this man... ok boy... ok idiot knew him better than anyone. Ryoji should have known that once he'd let slip that he'd remembered everything that Minato would want to know what it was.

Ryoji decided to change the subject entirely. "How are you doing in Tartarus?"

"Alright." The teen replied with a slight shake of the head, if the idiot wanted it this way he'd have a good reason. "We've run into a few problems now and then but we've made decent progress, we just cleared the fourteenth floor a couple of days ago."

"Fourteenth..." The silver-haired teen muttered as he looked upwards, as if gauging the tower while it wasn't even there. "That means you've taken out three of the Guardians."

"Guardians?" The silver-eyed junior checked.

"Tartarus is not only a tower, but it's also one of the only place's that holds the truth about what is really going on." Ryoji started to explain. "You'd expect them to have some sort of protection as a shadow nest, but it's also a test."

"To see if you're worthy of the truth." Minato finished.

"Well partially." Ryoji conceded. "It's easier to witness it than to explain what's really happening."

"Can't tell me, huh?" Minato interoperated the answer, seeing the other teen nod his head, the blue-haired teen let out a sigh. "Just tell me when you're able to."

The teen smirked at the embarrassed look on the heir's face as he felt a surge of power.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Death Arcana..._

"Sorry Nii-san..." The heir apologised as the door to the roof opened and Yukari walked through.

"Minato-kun, I've been looking all over for you!" Yukari greeted as she moved up to the pair. "Lunch is nearly over... Oh hello Mochizuki-san."

"Please, call me Ryoji." The heir replied as he turned on the charm. "Minato-kun, you're being rude."

The blue-haired teen looked at the idiot for a second before he tagged on. "Ah... Ryoji this is Yukari." Minato introduced the two of them.

"I must say... you're quite beautiful." Oh hell, the idiot was going to go through with it? "Would you like to join me for dinner? I know this place on Shirakawa Boulevard..."

Seeing the look on the brunette's face, Minato could see the attack coming and he knew the idiot had it coming to him.

But as a male he couldn't help but cringe in sympathy.

--

_Monday, 4th of May 2009. 17:07_

With Ryoji safely stowed in the nurse's office for the rest of the day until his car came to pick him up, it left the Minato free to do what he wished. As such he now found himself in the school gym attending Kendo Team practice.

Things had been going well, in the few times he'd come to practice he had picked up a few things he could use in Tartarus, especially since he had started to use the longsword he had bought along with the rest of his small armoury. The most of important of these being something that he hadn't expected.

Hand style versatility.

Before he had started practicing Kendo against actual opponents he had always considered the styles of fighting he used here and at Tartarus as separate. Yes he brought things from one style to another, but when he fought in Tartarus he only used his blade in one hand and when he sparred with the Kendo team he used a two handed style. However since he had started to use the longsword he had started to see the advantage of being able to switch how he held the sword depending on the situation, granted in Tartarus he still stuck mostly to using it with one hand, but there were times where he would bring the other hand to the hilt and draw a more powerful blow and in Kendo he'd realised that switching to a one handed grip would allow him to evade certain strikes that he had problems with beforehand.

As shown in his last sparring match with Kazushi.

"Alright!" The, now recovered, teen stated as he moved to the blue-haired teen's side. "One more time!"

If he'd know that Kazushi was going to be like this every time they were in practice he would have taken the teen's offer of rivalry and told him just where to stick it. "You sure you're ok for another round?"

"Hell, yeah." The athlete replied. "I'll show you what I'm made of!"

Oh well, there was no way around it... Time to beat up Kazushi with a wooden stick again.

"Huh...?" The teen turned in time to see the athlete land on his foot in an odd way, with a gasp he was on the floor. "...Damn it, y-you serious...!?" The teen muttered as she clutched his foot.

Minato closed his eyes; he'd known that something wasn't right. His friend had been favouring one foot over the other during practice. That's why he'd given the athlete a chance to have a break after every sparring match they had.

Of course it didn't help that Kazushi was a stubborn little sod.

"Kaz!" One of the other members called as the whole team noticed the stricken athlete.

Minato watched as the coach came over to check out the student before he called off the practice and got some of the members to help get Kazushi to the nurse's office. The rest of the team quickly changed out of their uniforms then followed, Minato observed the looks of concern on the group's faces, he wondered if Kazushi really understood just how lucky he was.

"Asthma, huh...?" The blue-haired teen heard as he moved into the nurse's office, or as he had named it 'the poison lab', pleased to note that a certain idiot had made his escape for the day.

He had to wonder if Edogawa offered him the same bottle of liquid death that Minato had gulped down during his first, and if he had his way last, visit.

"C'mon... We're counting on you to be captain next year..." Another team member stated.

"The big meet is next year," yet another Kendo team member stated before he finally noticed the look on the stricken athlete's face, "but don't push yourself too hard."

Minato already knew something was off, he'd seen Kazushi go down and it had nothing to do with being out of breath and because of the team's attempts to motivate the upcoming captain he knew that the athlete wouldn't be that willing to actually tell the group the truth.

"Minato, can you take him home?" The current captain asked the blue-haired teen.

"No problem." The teen stated as he moved over to the side to allow the other club members an escape route from hell.

"...Sorry, Senpai." Kazushi muttered as everyone but the blue-haired newcomer left the room.

"You alright?" Minato asked as he moved up to the teens bedside.

"...Wh-What? I'm fine, Minato." The teen found himself as the recipient of the cobalt-haired teen's one eyed glare. "Um... My asthma's just acting up..."

Yeah right...

He didn't say anything out loud; instead he simply let the athlete simmer under his gaze.

"...Argh!" The athlete suddenly relented. "I can't do it! I can't lie to you!"

Far too easy.

"Minato... I..." The teen paused for a few moments before he decided to continue. "My knee hasn't felt right, since that day you first came to practice... Even if I put medicine on it, or massage it, the pain won't go away."

This was worse than he'd thought. "Will it heal?"

"Of course." Kazushi shouted back. "But, I can't afford to stop training, so I'll work through the pain!"

Minato sighed as he realised that he'd met another driven person. "Kazushi... This is dangerous."

The athlete looked down at his knee before he finally started to explain. "...Next year, there's a national competition. There will be participants from all over Japan. The regional meet pales in comparison." He looked at towards Minato, who gave him a nod to tell him to carry on. "I have to win at that meet! I can't afford to put my training on hold! There are a lot of nosy guys on the team. If they find out, they'll keep bugging me about it..." He paused for a second before he asked the teen for a huge favour. "...Minato, please keep it a secret, alright!?"

This wasn't a good idea, putting stress on an unknown knee injury was just asking for trouble. However if he didn't help his friend then there was a chance that Kazushi would just carry on under the radar anyway and if he did that then no one would be around to keep an eye on him.

"Alright." The teen sighed as he felt a surge of power.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Chariot Arcana..._

Although he was worried, his bond with Kazushi had become stronger.

"...If I go easy on it, I can make it home by myself." The athlete assured as the blue-haired teen helped him to his feet. "Don't worry about me. Go back to training."

"Like hell." The teen replied as he moved beside the athlete.

"Minato-kun, I'm not an invalid." Was the simple reply.

"Tell you what. I'll walk you to the gates." Minato compromised.

"Heh, alright you win." Kazushi replied as he they got into the main hallway.

A smirk appeared on the blue-haired teen's face. "I'd have thought you'd be used to it by now."

Evading the light punch the athlete threw at him, Minato escorted the athlete to the school gates before they went their separate ways.

"How is he?" He turned to see Yuko standing behind him.

"He'll be alright." The teen replied as he leaned on the pillar, putting his hands back into his pockets.

"That's good then." She replied as the Ganguro as he observed the teen. "You look tired Minato-kun, why don't we go to Chagall Cafe. I'll buy."

Well if he hadn't gone to see Elizabeth he would have hung out with the team manager, as such he didn't see any reason why not. "If you're buying, I can't refuse."

"Well let's go." She stated as the two students headed towards Paulownia Mall.

--

_Monday, 4th of May 2009. 18:14_

While Minato had meant to come and try out the coffee that Chagall Cafe offered, he had never actually got around to popping in. It had a nice atmosphere, the rich aroma of the freshly brewed coffee creating a relaxing vibe that permeated the little shop. After they had looked over the menu he had followed Yuko's advice and grabbed a mug of Pheromone Coffee.

The pair found a table and took their seats, after a few moments of just enjoying their coffee in silence, Yuko decided to start a conversation. Although he wasn't sure exactly how complaining about the Kendo Team would help on that front.

"It's tough being a team manager... You don't get any respect." She started her rant. "The guys on the team all act like little kids. 'Where's my towel?', 'Can you wash this for me?' ...I'm not their mother."

Then teen kept silent, as he looked at his cup of coffee, suddenly feeling a bit guilty, after all he was a member of said team as well.

"At least I don't have to worry about gaining weight, since I'm always running around taking care of them." She conceded as she looked for the silver lining. "...How about you, Minato-kun? Are you enjoying the Kendo Team?"

"Yeah." The teen replied between sips of coffee. "It's a lot of fun."

"That's good." The Ganguro let out a sigh of relief. "I thought it might be boring for you, since you're so much better than everyone else..."

The blue-haired teen was barely able to keep the look of surprise off his face; he'd been practicing Kendo for no more than two weeks tops. If he was 'that much better than everyone else' then what the hell had they been doing?

"You've got your own style... You don't waste much energy." She commented as she contemplated. "If you have any questions, just ask Kaz... Um, you know... Kazushi. You guys are in the same class, so I'm sure he'd be willing to help you."

"Right." Minato replied as he finished his mug, if you could call it that. He had a sneaking feeling that the shop had these small mugs so they'd make money on the reorders.

"You can ask me, too, if you want, since I'm the team manager." Yuko stated as she looked at her watch.

After listening to the Ganguro rant about the Kendo Team he had a feeling that he had formed a friendship with the girl. As expected he felts a surge of power.

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the __Strength Arcana..._

A bond had been formed.

"I've gotta run. There's a show I want to catch..." Yuko excused herself as she stood up. "See you at school."

"See you later Yuko." Minato replied, barely noticing the teen's departure as he stared at the empty mug in front of him.

After a few minutes of internal struggle the teen found himself moving up the counter and ordering another mug of Pheromone Coffee.

--

_Tuesday, 5th of May 2009. 13:27_

"Yo, dude," Minato turned to see Junpei had taken his seat having come back from the canteen. "Man, that friend of yours, he's going around askin' out every girl he sees!"

Minato simple placed his head in his hands.

"Damn... I wish I had his guts..." Junpei sighed at his own misfortune.

"Did I tell you about what Yukari did to him when he asked her out?" Watching Junpei shake his head in a negative, he had a quick look before to make sure that no one was too close before he leaned in.

He whispered six mere words to the baseball-capped teen.

Junpei cringed in the way all men did when they were given information of that type, his hands going down to protect the area in question. "Guts are overrated."

The teen smirked, his work was done.

_Tuesday, 5th of May 2009. 17:27_

Minato found himself once again outside the second hand bookstore; Bookworms. He had been reluctant to return but he then decided that if he simply avoided difficult situations then he'd never get anything done. However the teen had to admit that he was surprised to see Bunkichi kneeling on the floor.

"That's strange... I swear I left it around here..." The owner muttered as he carried on looking. "But, I can't seem to find it."

"Looking for something?" The teen asked as he moved up behind the old man.

"Minato-chan?" The old man asked as he turned to look at the customer. "How'd you know I was looking for something? Are you psychic?"

Psychic?

The teen held in a sigh, you didn't need to be psychic to know that someone was looking for something when they were kneeling on the floor muttering about something not being there.

"I'm looking for my glasses..." He paused, slight confused before he corrected himself. "No, not my glasses--my wallet... I can't seem to find it."

Seeing how the old man could be the teen decided that helping would be the best way to move this along. "I'll help you look."

"Wow! Minato-chan, you really can read minds!" The old man stated, looking impressed. "I was just thinking it'd be nice if someone gave us a hand."

The teen greeted the other owner of the shop before he started to help with the search, granted looking in an old bookstore had its problems, seeing as it was getting towards the end of the day and the customers had wreaked the place. There was also the distraction of some of the books that caught the teen's eyes, taking a second to think he finally put all of the said items into a pile for further examination.

He continued to look around, suddenly realising that he could be here for a while.

--

_Tuesday, 5th of May 2009. 15:37_

"Where could it be...?" The old man asked himself as he rested by a bookshelf, a look of confusion on his face before he finally asked himself. "...Wait, what were we looking for?"

Minato couldn't hold his sigh in this time.

"Konnichiwa, 'ello!" The trio turned at the sound of the heavily accented Japanese to see a blond-haired teenager with a fan standing in the doorway, with a wallet in his hands. "I found zis en ze ground outside! Eez it yours?"

Thank whatever's out there for that.

"Wow! This is it! I've been looking for this wallet everywhere!" The owner stated as he took the wallet from the passerby. He examined it for a moment before he made a comment. "Well, it's not a golden wallet, but I'm still happy to have it back!"

Minato wasn't surprised, the money in a wallet usually wasn't an issue, it was replacing everything else that caused such a pain in the neck.

"Sumimasen, excuse me..." The blonde-haired teen asked as he turned his attention to the blue-haired customer. "Aren't you ze transfer student everyone eez talking about?" The fan-carrying teen watched Minato nod before he continued. "I go to ze same school--Gekkoukan!"

Minato closed his eyes, being the centre of attention was starting to annoy him. However this teen seemed nice enough although his accent made figuring out what he was saying a bit difficult. "Nice to meet you."

"I came 'here from France to study abroad. My name eez Andre Laurent Jean Geraux." The teen introduced himself. French well that explained the accent at least and the odd use of the Japanese language. "But, zey call me "Bebe"! Hajime mashite, it eez nice to meet you too!" The French student finished, knowing that the Japanese found his whole name a bit of a mouthful.

Minato watched the Frenchman unsure what he could say.

"I work in ze Home Economis Room everyday. If you get bored, come say 'ello!" Bebe invited before he turned to exit. "I 'ope to see you zere. Sayonara, goodbye!"

"Well... He seemed like an interesting young man." Mitsuko stated to ease the silence.

"Hmm... I thought I put it in my wallet so I wouldn't lose it..." Bunkichi said as he riffled through his wallet before finding what he was after. "...Ah, here it is! I knew it was in here!"

The old lady paled as she looked at the item that had been revealed. "...Dear? Is that key for...?"

"Come on, dear, you know what it is. It's the key for our son's car. Seeing Minato-chan reminded me of how things used to be..." He pointed out as he posed with the key in question. "I haven't heard the roar of the engine in a long time. How do I look, dear?"

Minato couldn't say how the old man looked without being rude, however he was worried to see Mitsuko look stricken.

"Please don't!" She all but screamed. "Why must you get into a car!? Do you want me to end up all alone!?"

What was so wrong with a car?

The woman suddenly calmed down enough to realise that their newest regular was still there. "Um, Minato-chan... I'm sorry for raising my voice. Did I scare you?"

The teen held the smirk behind his mask, it would be inappropriate. But the question was amusing after the things he'd seen during the Dark Hour, the screams of an old woman we're mild in comparison. He shook his head to let the old woman know he was alright.

"Our son... Remember what I told you? How he passed away..." Actually the teen was sure that the couple hadn't told him the reason. "On the way home from work, he got into an accident... He was hit by a dump truck driver who was drunk on the job..."

Minato's gaze turned to the floor, this explained Mitsuko's reaction alright and by the look on Bunkichi's face he'd realised the reason as well. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Minato-chan, please punch me... Punch me for being so insensitive..." The old man begged, sorrow and guilt lacing his tone. "With all my excitement, I forgot to consider how my wife might feel... I'm such a... I'm such a..."

Forgetful, old, silly man. But that wasn't a crime, as such Minato knew he wouldn't be able to carry out that request.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hierophant Arcana..._

His bond with the couple grew.

"...Hm? Why should we let this get us down?" Bunkichi asked trying to change the atmosphere. "Since I found my wallet, why don't we eat out, dear?"

Minato watched as Mitsuko nodded her head, while wiping a tear out of her eye.

"Thanks for searching with us, Minato-chan." The old man thanked the teenager, pulling something out of his wallet and handing it to him. "Consider this your allowance."

A sachet of medicine wasn't what was usually classified as an allowance; however the teen appreciated the gesture. Bunkichi in particular seemed to be treating him as the grandchild that they never had, a thought that left feelings he had buried come to the fore. He had never had grandparents, his mother was an orphan and all but one member of his father's side was all but forgotten.

He made a decision, as long as he didn't let the couple spoil him too much, he wouldn't min them treating him as their grandchild and if that helped them as well then everyone was better off. With a small smile he started to head back to the dorm before a thought came to his head.

Oh sod, he hadn't bought the pile of books he'd put to one side.

--

_Tuesday, 5th of May 2009. DH:27_

Well the teen had to admit that the push so far had been without major incident, after all Junpei was actually on form instead of trying to act like Rambo and they had made steady progress, hell he could even state that he had been able to get one of the items that Elizabeth had requested en route, although trying to explain why he was after such a thing had become a problem, in the end he merely decided to give the duo with him a simple answer:

"If it hasn't dissolved like the rest of the shadows then there is a reason."

That seemed good enough for them thankfully and as such there was smooth sailing all the way up to the sixteenth floor.

When they ran into a barrier.

"Mitsuru-sempai." Yukari opened the transceiver to call it in, since Minato was busy looking at the stacks of school chairs and desks that stopped the teens from going further. "We've hit a snag."

"I can see that." Mitsuru replied as she fiddled with a few controls on her equipment. "Well that seems to be as far as you can go for now, tres bien. I'll see you in a few moments."

"Well at least we know where all the school desks go when this place changes." Junpei noted as he looked at the barrier. "You think we could just move it out of the way?"

"Probably not." Minato stated as he moved to the teen's side.

"Come on man, it's just a pile of desks." Junpei argued back. "It'll take a while but it'll be no problem."

"You're forgetting the first rule of Tartarus." Minato replied as turned to look at the lanky junior.

"Oh?" The black-haired teen motioned the expedition leader to continue.

"Just because it looks similar, doesn't mean that it is."

"Heh, you've got a point." Junpei conceded, however Minato's attention was drawn away from the teen.

To the piece of paper that was on the floor near the corner of the room.

It was Yukari how noticed the blue-haired teen picking up the sheet. "What's that Minato-kun?"

"I'm not sure." The teen replied as he picked up the document, it was only a small piece of paper, if he had to guess he'd say that it was from a small notepad of some sort. He quickly checked the text written on the piece of paper.

'The electricity's hooked up. But, why do they need so much? There's only a school on this island.'

The school was obviously Gekkoukan, seeing how the scrap of paper was found within Tartarus, but he'd need to have a check through the records to see what this person was talking about in regards to the power consumption, maybe he could wing it at the city hall by saying he was researching the power usage of Iwatodai for a school project.

He turned to Yukari. "It's a note of some sort." He replied to the brunette's question.

"Huh, I wonder what they were using all that power for?" Junpei stated as he looked over Minato's shoulder.

"It's a bit of a coincidence that this school is involved." Yukari stated, an odd expression on her face.

While Minato was thinking he remembered seeing something about documents in Elizabeth's book of requests, this piece of paper was probably what the elevator attendant was after. In that case a visit to the Velvet Room was in order... As soon as he got hold of a Muscle Drink from the pharmacy.

"Well I'll look into the records." Minato said as he moved towards the Access Point. "It's worth a look to see who put down the electrical system for this island."

However he already had a pretty good idea.

"Guys." The two male juniors stopped as they turned to look at the brunette. "Don't you think it'd be a good idea to keep this from Mitsuru-sempai?"

Well that wasn't expected... who was he trying to kid that was pretty much a guarantee.

"Why?" Junpei asked clueless to the brunette's concerns.

Yukari took a moment to answer. "Well there are..."

"Tell you what; we'll keep this to ourselves for now." Minato cut across the brunette surprisingly getting a thankful look from the teen who was unsure if she wanted Junpei to know what she had told the blue-haired teen. "I'll look into it as I said earlier and if I think there is something going on we'll look further into it without saying anything, if not then I see no reason why she shouldn't be told."

"Man Yuka-tan you're way too paranoid." Junpei replied as they once gained headed for the Access Point.

"Well some of us prefer to use this thing we call a brain, Stupei." Yukari calmly responded.

"Sticks and stones Yuka-tan." The baseball capped teen simply replied. "Sticks and stones."

--

_Wednesday, 6th of May 2009. 17:28_

As the blue-haired teen left the school ground, desperately trying to avoid the idiot and his 'sight-seeing outing', something he knew was just asking for trouble, he hear his name being called. He turned, mostly expecting that his plan had failed and the idiot had caught up with him, instead he found himself facing an out of breath Yuko.

"Hey Minato-kun." The Ganguro greeted as she leaned against the pillar. Minato merely nodded his greeting as he waited for the teenager to get her breath back. "I'm thinking of stopping at Wild-Duck Burger on the way home, as you're going most of the way do you want to come?"

Hum, well if he did go then it would be his turn to pay the bill, but since he wasn't Kenji that wouldn't be too much of a problem, plus this was Wild Duck Burger, how expensive could it be? "Alright, but this time it's my turn to pay the bill."

"You're on." The Kendo Team manager replied as she fell into line beside the other teenager as they left the school grounds.

--

_Wednesday, 6th of May 2009. 17:57_

Minato had been told given varied reviews of Wild-Duck Burger, some said that it was alright for the price and worth the stop if you were in a rush while others stated that it didn't serve actual food and you'd be better just to eat the money bills you'd be spending. He'd learnt that when places had reviews as versatile as this then it was probably somewhere in between. As he stood in front of the counter he looked over the menu, it included many things that were to be expected in a hamburger bar and a few newer items on the menu that were obvious attempts to try and overcome bad press.

Well when in doubt it was best to go for the most basic item on the menu. As such when he sat down with the Kendo Team's manager he was carrying a tray with a standard Duck-Burger meal.

The pair sat down at one of the vacant tables, unwrapping their straws and putting them into their drinks before Yuko tested the Duck Fries out to obviously to see if it was a good batch. Once she was happy with her food she started to address the other teen.

"I'm mentally exhausted..." She started before she took a sip of her drink.

Seeing another rant in the future, Minato mentally prepared himself before she asked the question she was obviously waiting for. "What happened?"

"Well, nothing major. Maybe I exaggerated a bit..." She admitted as her mood lightened slightly. "But seriously, I have been feeling kind of down lately. Ekoda-sensei asked to speak with me. He wanted to know why I turned in a blank quiz."

"Blank?" Minato checked, that was an alien concept to the teen, although most of these things were pretty much useless just leaving them blank would cause more problems than it was worth.

Yuko merely nodded. "He asked me, 'Don't you have any motivation?' I answered honestly; I said, 'Not really.'." She said as she looked at her meal. "Then, he got so pissed off! He even yelled at me about the length of my skirt!"

Minato sighed, he had a few lessons with Ekoda-sensei and to be honest he wasn't too impressed, Classic-Lit was a hit or miss subject people either liked it or they couldn't care less and as modern society changed it became less important in some ways. Alas Ekoda-sensei was set in his ways; instead of changing the topic in a way which could try and make it relevant to the modern student he stuck to his tried and tested method of boring the room to death, while trying to pass the subject off as cool.

And an old teacher trying to pass something off as cool was a sure fire way of making it the most uncool thing he could imagine.

"Who cares about Classic Literature anyway!? Besides, I didn't do anything wrong!" She looked up at Minato for some reassurance. "Right, Minato-kun!?"

"Not really." He decided to reply; after all, all the teacher was doing was alienating the Ganguro even more.

"Exactly." She started a rant as he was expecting. "Doesn't he realize we're only teenagers? Now's the time to enjoy life! Who cares about stories by a bunch of dead guys!?"

She paused to consider something for a moment before she voiced her thoughts.

"Maybe I should be a science major. Then, I wouldn't have to take Classic Literature..." She paused for a second realising a flaw in her plan. "Wait! Then, I'd have to take Physics. Urgh forget it, I'm gonna write down something on the quizzes from now on. I don't want him to reprimand me again."

"That's probably the wisest thing to do." Minato assured her as he hazarded a taste of his Duck-Burger, although he admitted it was alright it wasn't as good as a proper burger.

"You're right I wouldn't want my reputation as an "intellectual" would be ruined." She replied with a blush.

"If you say so." The blue-haired teen smirked as the Yuko looked even more embarrassed.

Deciding that changing the comment was prudent she carried on with the original conversation. "Mr. Ekoda asked me to write a 3-page essay, reflecting on my performance in his class..." She sighed as he removed the top from her drink and stirred the ice with her straw. "Three pages!? Is he serious!? What does he expect me to say!? But I guess I have no choice, if I want to graduate. Otherwise, I'll have to repeat his class."

"That wouldn't be good." Minato replied understating his real thoughts on the matter.

No... It would suck.

A small smile lit up the girl's face. "I can't wait to celebrate graduation with everyone, especially the team... And you too, Minato-kun." She paused thinking about how that must have sounded. "Or, am I getting ahead of myself?"

In a way she was. He wasn't really sure he'd be here next year; he could be moved again by child welfare to another 'centre of excellence' or one day he and the others might not make it out of Tartarus alive.

He suppressed a shudder at that thought.

In the end his answer was unambiguous. "We'll see."

He'd learned something from this meeting. Yuko had no sense of direction; she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. The teen had that problem in a way himself, although his were caused by too many choices instead of not considering the options in the first place.

As he felt a surge of power, he wondered if helping Yuko find her path would help him find his own answer to his question.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Strength Arcana..._

Having finished her meal, Yuko took her tray to the rubbish bin before she turned to her companion. "Well I guess there's nothing for it. The sooner I get this essay done the better." She stated before she moved turned towards the exit. "See you later Minato-kun."

The teen nodded to the exiting Ganguro as he followed her actions and chucked away his rubbish. However instead of heading home he took the monorail hack to Port Island and headed for Paulownia Mall.

There was a certain elevator attendant he needed to visit.

_Wednesday, 6th of May 2009. 18:57_

"Greetings." Elizabeth stated as the visitor entered the room and took his seat. "How can I help you?"

"Evening Elizabeth-san." He returned her greeting as he pulled some items out of his schoolbag. "I believe you asked for these." He stated as he put them on the table.

The teen watched as she took hold of the beetle shell. "I see you're brought 1 Beetle Shell, as I requested. Thank you." She thanked the visitor before pausing a second to see if he was going to ask what she expected him to. "Aren't you curious why I made such a request?"

"I guess." Minato replied, leaving the opening that the elevator attendant practically begged for.

"Well, I shall leave it to your imagination." She replied with a mysterious smile as she opened the book and ticked the entry off.

What the...

"Oh and well done. You managed to retrieve the first old document in time. Have you already read it?" She asked as she ticked that entry off as well. "It's quite interesting... I've always been fond of mysteries."

"I'll bring a Sherlock Holmes movie with me next time then." Minato joked as he picked up the two rewards that Elizabeth had placed down so far.

"Hum... Maybe I should add that to the book of requests... Now what would be a suitable reward for such a item?" She took a few moments to think for she gave her answer. "Well I have plenty to time to consider that in the future."

"Right." Minato replied wishing he'd kept his mouth shut.

"Oh, my..." Elizabeth stated as she picked up the muscle drink from the table. "I've never tried a Muscle Drink before... Is it safe?" She didn't wait for Minato to reply before she charged on. "Well, you have my thanks. I look forward to tasting it."

Taking the final reward the teen stood up. "Well if that's everything sorted..."

"No it isn't." Elizabeth stated as she ticked another entry from the book. "I would like to thank you for showing me around Paulownia Mall."

"It's no problem." Minato replied, deciding that telling the elevator attendant just how much trouble she caused probably wasn't worth it.

"I have begun negotiations with my master on the topic of turning the Velvet Room into a club." She stated causing a blue eyelid to arc upwards. "As you can understand in negotiations there is a lot of give and take, however I am confident that I can achieve the result I require."

"Talking about Igor-san." Minato changed the topic. "Where is he?"

--

_Tuesday, 5th of May 2009. 22:01 HST_

"Here is your drink sir." The waitress in a Honolulu grass skirt served to the strange man in the deck chair.

"Thank you my dear." The hook-nosed man replied as he took the offered beverage from the girl and placed it at the table beside him.

The man had been here for the last six and a half hours and had bought quite a few drinks, which was fortunate as he tipped well. The waitress had seen many a strange thing in her time in the job, an old man reclining in a sun lounger during the night with a sun umbrella set up probably would have only reached three quarters of the way up the list, until you took into account the fact that he was wearing a velvet coloured suit in such a humid temperature.

As she moved back towards the bar she could hear snoring from behind her.

--

_Thursday 7__th__ of May 2009: 17:28_

"Man, Arisato where were you last year?" The student, who he had been sparring with, asked the shinai armed teen ash they removed their protective headgear.

"Here and there." The teen responded vaguely, his experience in the Nagasaki Institute of Excellence hadn't been a fond one.

"We could have used someone like you for the regionals last year." Minato's sparring partner admitted.

"You're giving me far too much credit." Minato replied.

"Yeah right." The student replied. "Even Kaz sees that you have the potential to knock the living daylights out of all of us."

"Talking about Kazushi." Minato started to look around for the self-proclaimed rival. "Any idea where he is?"

The student shrugged. "No idea."

"Arisato!" The pair turned to see the coach waving the blue-haired teen over. "Come here and deflate Izumi's ego for me will you."

The teen held in a sigh as he moved towards the coach and his next victim.

--

_Thursday 7__th__ of May 2009: 17:47_

As Minato left the school building he saw Kazushi leaning against the pillar by the gates. Seeing how he was caught up in his own thoughts the blue-haired teen moved up to his side and waited for a few minutes. Seeing that the teen was too far into Thoughts-Ville he buried a smirk before he finally said: "Evening."

Kazushi nearly jumped out of his skin. "H-Hey!? Minato!" Sometimes it was too easy. "Wha-What's up...? I was just gonna sneak into practice..."

The teen arched an eyebrow; it was a bit late for that wasn't it. "Sneak?"

The athlete had a quick look around, a nervous expression on his face. "M-My mom kept bugging me, so...!" He paused, a troubled look appearing on his face. "I went to the hospital... After I told her about my knee, she insisted. Well to be honest she made the appointment without telling me, so... there was nothing I could do!"

"Well, that sucks." Minato sympathised with the teen. Although he knew that Kaz's mother had a point in making him go, they were at the age where they were on the border of adulthood, he knew how frustrating it was to not have a say in important decisions regarding your life.

He just needed to find a way to show to Kazushi that he this tournament wasn't worth him ruining his knee.

"Doesn't it? My mom, the rest of the team... Why does everyone have to be like that...?"

Because they care you dumbass, they just don't understand that they're making the situation worse.

Kazushi was oblivious to the look on his rival's face. "It gets annoying when everyone around you is so nosy, huh...?"

The blue-haired teen merely shrugged; after all he knew that in most situations he was one of the nosy ones.

Today, they took x-rays... I'll know the results tomorrow. I don't know why they couldn't have told me today." The athlete let out a growl of frustration. " ...Oh, hey! Don't tell anyone about me going to the hospital, alright?" He pleaded, looking at his trainers.

Minato held in a sigh. "Alright." He stated, knowing that telling the team the truth wouldn't help matters much anyway, Kazushi wasn't one to take things lying down, if the team told him that he couldn't practice with them then he'd find another way and it would be better for all involved if Minato simply kept the teen where he could keep an eye on him.

The athlete finally looked at the blue-haired teen, guilt ridden over his face. "...I-I'm always asking you to keep quiet... Sorry 'bout that."

Minato smiled as he shook his head to show the athlete that it wasn't a problem, all the while feeling a surge of power.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Chariot Arcana..._

"Alright! Today, the doctor told me to take it easy, but let's get to practice!" A smirk appeared on Minato's face as the teen started for the gym.

5

4

3

2

1

"Wait a minute! Since you're leaving, that means practice is over..." Kazushi realised as he stopped in his tracks, he gave a sigh of defeat before he addressed the other teen again. "...Oh well... I guess I have to go home today... Later, Minato."

It was nice to see some things would never change.

**End of Chapter 9**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Right. Sorry this would have been out about on Friday but I heard the Steve Mclaren interview they were playing on BBC Five Live and it's taken me this long to stop laughing. Back on subject this one is a long one, come on, it's the second full moon and to be honest it's about three thousand words over what I had estimated.

On another note I want to address something. A comment was made in the reviews about how people would like more original material and less of the social links. Now I can see where you're coming from, this is based on a story that I expect all of you to know fairly well and although I try hard to keep it interesting during the social links there was always going to be the problems of you knowing where they are going.

Now this will probably get better as we progress and the story moves away from the original plot, but to be honest there is going to be times where what I'm writing will be close to what happens in the original plot after all I can't change everything. I'm also not going to cut out social links because they haven't changed, first off Vocarin would have my arse on the continuality front and secondly I'm trying to be through.

Also a quick hello to everyone who has this on alert or has put it on their favourites. Don't be shy and leave me a review so I can see your opinions on the piece so far. Also a big thanks to all those who review (including Vocarin who reviews on the sly).

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_Friday, 8th of May 2009. 07:46_

"Morning." Minato turned to see Ryoji leaning against the pillar, which held the school gates, holding an open newspaper in his hands.

"Morning," the blue-haired teen replied as he moved next to the teen.

"It's awful what's been going on with the monorail," the heir stated as he flapped the front page, drawing the teen's attention to the headline. "I wonder what could be causing it."

"Ryoji..." Minato simply shook his head. Ryoji was many things, subtle wasn't one of them. "You couldn't be less subtle if you hired a plane with a banner saying 'look at this!'."

"Hey!" Ryoji tried to look insulted, it was a shame that his eyes gave him away. "I can be subtle."

Right.

"Taking about subtlety, I see you've recovered," Minato stated, smirking as the grin drained from the heir's face. "Of all the places you could have chosen, you chose Shirakawa Boulevard."

"Hey, I said it was near. _Near_!" He emphasised. "It's a nice small little restaurant apparently. It's supposed to have a cosy atmosphere and the food is supposed to be excellent."

Sadly Minato only took on one word from his defence.

"Apparently?" Minato queried.

"Well I haven't actually had a chance to visit," he admitted, looking away. "Come on Nii-san, I've been in Iwatodai for only a few weeks under the watchful eyes of the board's spies."

Minato made a quick check around to make sure that no one had picked up the careless use of the brotherly term, realising, luckily, that no one was paying attention.

"Hold on," he stated as the thought came to his head. "Do you even know what's on Shirakawa Boulevard?"

The puzzled look on Ryoji's face answered it for him. "On it?"

His mask broke as he burst out laughing. "Ryoji, you're an idiot."

With that he started to move towards the school.

"Wha...? Minato!" Ryoji started to run after his withdrawing elder brother. "Minato-kun! What's so funny!?" Minato!"

--

_Friday, 8th of May 2009. 12:37_

"Hey, Minato." The blue-haired teen looked up to see Kenji standing in front of his desk looking a bit worried.

"Kenji," he replied calmly, relaxing back into his chair. This was going to be good.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry about that happened at Hagakure." Finally, an actual apology! "It was out of order, dude."

"Alright." May as well get this over with, the moron had suffered enough. "But let this be a warning: You try anything like that again and it'll be worse next time."

"O-Okay," the blonde-haired teen stuttered before he changed topics to the reason he had come over. "Anyway, dude, you doing anything after school today?"

"Not that I know of," he replied as he packed his books away, planning to try and get some lunch.

"Alright then, meet me by that strange tree in the first floor hallway," Kenji told him. "I need you to be there."

"Oh?" Minato smiled as he saw the moron getting even more nervous.

"Well... I'll explain later," Kenji promised as he started to head back to his desk. "See ya."

Minato sighed; maybe he shouldn't have let the little sod off so easily. Ah well it was time to get some lunch.

--

_Friday, 8th of May 2009. 17:38_

Minato smiled as he looked at the Persimmon Tree, contemplating how much of his life seemed to be congealing around Iwatodai. His new friends, S.E.E.S., the shadows, Tartarus, the strange white-haired boy, the Velvet Room, Ryoji's return to his life. Most of the major events of his life seem to circulate around this city...

Hold on. That included...

He closed his eyes as he held the memory at bay. Contemplating the past wasn't the thing to be doing right now. Best to look to the future.

A future that included an ordeal that had a good chance of killing him if he wasn't careful.

He'd known since he'd joined S.E.E.S. that death would be a constant companion; after all they spent their nights running though a Hell infested tower fighting things that would leave them soulless husks if they weren't careful. Skill could only get you so far, and as long as there was a possibility that you could fail, no matter how small it was, eventually the numbers would go against you.

There was something he knew he would have to do.

"Hey, thanks for coming, man." The teen turned from his thoughts to see the blonde-haired junior he was waiting for approach. "Can you wait here for a sec?"

Err... Okay. You just turn up and then you ask me to wait here so you can do 'whatever's out there' knows what.

"I guess," he replied, looking at the junior and becoming slightly worried that the teen had a reprisal planned. "What are you up to?"

"Hey, don't freak out, man!" Kenji stated as he looked around. If the little sod had some sort of revenge planned then he would be learning the meaning of pain. "I'm gonna go ask Kanou-sensei out right now!"

What?

"What?"

"You heard me dude," Kenji replied. "I'm gonna call on all of my manly spirit and ask Kanou-sensei out."

Really, Minato should have been asking what the Hell 'manly spirit' was, but one thought stayed in his head.

Oh, this could only end badly.

"Good luck." But like watching a looming train crash that there was no chance of stopping, all you could do was watch.

"Thanks, man!" A smile lit the poor sod's face as he started to psyche himself up. "I'm gonna go get myself a girlfriend!" Once ready he pointed forward and shouted: "Alright, dude, here I go!" And charged, some would say stupidly, towards his goal.

For a second he was alone before he felt a presence behind him.

He turned to see that the idiot was leaning against the Persimmon Tree, a big grin on his face. "What was that about?"

"Sadly, something that isn't going to end well." The teen shook his head as his eyes looked towards the door his hapless friend had charged though.

"O-ho!" the heir exclaimed as he finally caught on. "I see a train crash in the future!"

"You have no idea," Minato assured him grimly.

"Let me guess," the heir hedged as he put on a look of feigned concentration. "He fancies older woman and has his eyes on a teacher?"

The only reply the heir got was a raised eyebrow.

"Come on Nii-san." The silver-haired teen tried to look offended. "I have been trained to read into these things."

"You actually trained?" The blue-haired smirked as he took the opening.

"Nii-san!" Ryoji actually looked insulted.

"I'm sorry Ryoji, but you asked for it." The look on his face wasn't apologetic at all.

"Be careful Nii-san," the heir's look suddenly turned feral, the smirk setting off warning lights. "I have ways of making you regret it."

"Take your best shot." Minato's smirk faded as his mind went back to the topic he'd been thinking of before Kenji had turned up. "Ryoji, I need a favour."

"You make fun of me and then ask for the favour." Ryoji shook his head. "Go on."

"On Sunday... I need to visit somewhere on Sunday," he explained. "I want you to go with me."

"Ah," Ryoji muttered after a moment, guessing what this was about. "I'm free then. Meet me at Port Island station, at midday. We can have lunch."

"Alright," Minato nodded as he saw Kenji making his way back. "Make yourself scarce."

There was no reply; Minato glanced towards where the teen had been to see that he'd already vanished.

"Hey, man, listen to this!" Kenji shouted as he got closer. "She said yes! Can you believe it!? She said YES!"

To be honest, he couldn't.

"Just as I was about to ask HER out, she asked ME if I wanted a private lesson!" Kenji was bouncing on his feet, obviously still excited.

Hold on...

"She asked you?" The teen had a sneaking feeling about this.

"Heh don't sound too shocked Minato. I'm a stud muffin." Oh 'whatever's out there,' he'd better take this outside; there wasn't room for the moron's expanded ego. "A private lesson, dude!"

Minato leaned on the wall as Kenji became lost in his own thoughts.

It took the blonde-haired teen a while to remember that he wasn't alone. "Dude, I owe you! I owe you big time!"

Aw well, there was a large chance that the teen had misunderstood why Kanou-sensei had asked Kenji if he wanted special lessons. But as was said before, you couldn't take your eyes off the train crash.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Magician Arcana..._

"She invited me over to her house, dude! Oh man, I'm not ready for this!" Minato looked up at the blonde-haired teen, expecting that he needed to answer the moron. He had to hold a sigh as he noticed that the junior was muttering to himself. "I probably shouldn't try to go too far with her today, right? But, then again, she IS an adult, so..."

This could only end badly.

"Oh, hey, Minato, you're still here?" Kenji asked as he noticed the teen again. "Sorry, man, I gotta get going. Later, dude." With that Kenji was gone.

Minato watched the teen retreat, shaking his head, before he started for the exit as well. He needed a coffee.

--

_Friday, 8th of May 2009. 19:38_

He was positive, Chagall had to be putting something illegal in to their coffee. It was far too addictive. Caffeine should have been a complete no-no. After all tomorrow would be the ordeal and therefore a good night's sleep would be vital.

He had no idea what possessed him to drink four mugs of Pheromone Coffee.

Deciding that the best option was to get some studying done for the mid-term exams, and hope that the caffeine worked its way out of his system naturally, he headed for the dorm.

However, when he opened the door to the outside, he heard a distantly familiar voice coming from the seating area.

'_Y. M. C. A. It's got to stay at the Y. M. C. Is that C? A.'_

Oh Hell's teeth!

A chill ran though the teen's soul as dread filled him, he recognised the voice.

Moving into the dorm as fast as possible, hoping against hope that his fear wasn't justified he turned to look at the group assembled around the couches, looking at the TV.

Noticing the teen had entered Junpei turned a feral grin to the teen, something a person only wore when they knew they had enough material to tease you for a lifetime. "Hey Minato, dude. Welcome back."

Minato didn't reply; his eyes glued to the TV and the disc player that had been plugged into it.

"Hey, Minato-kun." The voice of the obvious instigator drew the teen away from the incriminating footage he'd hoped to never see again. Ryoji sat between Junpei and Yukari, the look of innocence on his face looking anything but. "I came over to see Yukari-san and apologise for any offence I may have caused her."

Minato remained silent, cursing himself for telling the idiot to take his best shot. He merely observed the others as Akihiko looked quite happy, obviously enjoying the rare chance to see the blue-haired teen's mask break. Even Mitsuru was there, although she tried to imply that she wasn't that bothered as she had her eyes firmly on a book. Sadly, the slight blush on her cheeks killed that illusion.

"Well she wanted to know what you were like when we were younger and I had this in my schoolbag so I-I..." Ryoji stopped as a silver-eye locked onto him with a glare that lanced through his soul.

A slightly blushing Yukari unwittingly made the situation worse. "You looked very cute Minato-kun."

Minato didn't respond as he turned back to the footage of a nine year old version of himself massacring _Y.M.C.A._ He was sure that he'd destroyed all evidence to the debacle. He turned to the Mochizuki heir; the smug, but slightly worried, look on the idiot's face answered that little mystery. All there was to do was salvage the situation.

He pressed stop on the player, followed by the ejection button. Picking up the disk he ignored Ryoji's cry of protest as he moved over to the microwave, tossed the disk in and put it on full power for thirty seconds, watching the little light show as the microwaves did their task and ruined it. Having finished he picked up an oven glove, fished out the disk and binned it before heading for the stairs.

On the way up he could hear Ryoji state to the others. "Oh Hell. He's going to be sulking for the next few days now."

Alright, the idiot was a dead man.

He resisted the temptation to pull something out of the armoury. Explaining it to the others and avoiding a Kirijo execution wouldn't be worth the risk. However another opportunity presented itself as he noticed that Junpei had left his door open to let his room breath. The teen crushed the feeling of guilt as he trespassed into the room and walked around the disaster area before he found what he was looking for.

A Nerf baseball bat.

He picked the item up, wondering just how much damage could be inflicted by a bat made of foam, although he was sure that there was something solid in the middle helping it keep its shape.

Now properly armed, he returned to the dorm's living area, smirking as he noticed the colour drain from Ryoji's face as he noticed the weapon in the teen's hand. He brought the bat down into the palm of his off-hand, creating a nice sounding thwack that caused the idiot to pull on his collar as he got even more nervous. It was then that Minato said his first word since entering the dorm tonight.

"Run."

He'd never seen Ryoji run so fast in his life.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. 08:47_

As it turned out, chasing an idiot around mainland Iwatodai, armed with a Nerf baseball bat whilst looking to issue some rough justice was a good way to counter the caffeine in his system. He'd had a good sleep last night after he'd given up.

He had to admit the idiot could run.

"Hey, Minato. How's it going?" He turned to see Akihiko had fallen into step beside him.

"Morning Akihiko-sempai," the teen replied as he slowed down and stopped by the gates.

"How's the training in Tartarus?" the silver-haired boxer asked, after having looked around to make sure no one was listening in.

"Alright," Minato admitted, also scanning to make sure no one picked anything up. "We're getting the hang of it."

"That's good. It never hurts to train while you have the chance." The senior smiled as he motioned for the teen to keep walking. "My wounds will heal in no time, and then I'll be able to join you on the front line. But, until then you're going to have to handle yourselves."

"How is your ribcage anyway?" the blue-haired teen inquired.

"It's getting there," the boxer replied. "I can't train as much as I want to, but if things carry on as it is I should be back in action in a couple of weeks."

"Well it'll be good to hand over the ropes," Minato stated as they reached they reached the stairs to the second floor.

"So..." The senior let a grin appear on his face as he prepared a broadside. "Did you catch Mochizuki last night?"

... Sometimes the best way to avoid an incident you didn't want to talk about was to ignore it.

"See you later Akihiko-sempai." With that the blue-haired teen retreated before the silver-haired had a chance to dig further.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. 12:22_

"So, do you have that Nerf bat in your school bag and if so should I start running now." Minato looked up to see the idiot had risked a repeat of last night and was now standing in front of him.

"I realised trying to beat some sense into you was futile long ago." Minato waved off the question as he started to put his earphones on.

"You wouldn't think that after last night," the heir answered as a grin appeared on his face.

"Just because it's futile doesn't mean that you should stop," the blue-haired teen responded.

"Aw, Minato-kun, you're no fun," Ryoji pouted as he sat on Junpei's desk.

"Well I'm going to get some lunch," Minato replied as he moved to leave the homeroom. "I'm studying for the mid-terms so I probably won't see you tonight."

"Studying? Oh come on Minato-kun, you know it's a waste of time," Ryoji complained with a sigh. "Well enjoy your studying; I'll see you on Sunday then."

"See you Sunday." Minato bid the heir farewell as he put on his phones and headed for the cafeteria.

"Nii-san..." Ryoji muttered a mysterious smile on his face. "You may not see me tonight, but I'll see you."

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:04_

To say she was frustrated was an understatement.

Kirijo Mitsuru was once again up during the Dark Hour fiddling with dials on her scanning equipment. Although Penthesilea could do support actions, she was preliminary a combat persona. As such she needed to augment the persona's inadequacies with technology. She idly wondered if Arisato had a persona in his repertoire that could do support actions with a greater deal of success than Penthesilea. However she dismissed the thought as soon as it came to her.

Arisato Minato was a far greater asset in the frontlines compared to being stuck in the back.

"You're still at it?" The heiress looked up from her 'scanner' to look at the silver haired boxer who had entered the command room.

"Yeah. You never know when the enemy might appear," she replied. After all, vigilance was always prudent.

The silver boxer merely looked puzzled. "I thought you couldn't scan outside of Tartarus?"

"To be honest, I lack the power..." the heiress admitted. "Maybe this is the best Penthesilea can do in terms of data gathering. Although, the power of persona seems to be much broader than I thought." She noted her thoughts turning back to a certain blue-haired teen. "We've even got someone who can switch personas in the middle of battle. There's something special about his ability. It hasn't been that long since his awakening, either."

"I think that morphing trick he pulled off during his first encounter made that obvious," Akihiko replied with a slight chuckle. "I have to admit, I was surprised too. But in the end, it's up to him whether or not he can reach his full potential."

Mitsuru only nodded as she kept her attention to the device in front of her.

"You know, Mitsuru. As a friend I have to tell you..." He paused wondering if the reaction would be worth the execution that would follow. "You're being quite obvious about things when it comes to Arisato Minato."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, trying to blow the situation away with the heiress routine.

"Oh come on. You... what did Junpei call it...? Ah! Intellectual flirting! You did that all the time during their first time in Tartarus..." He started explaining his reasoning.

"I wasn't flirting; I was elaborating on what techniques we use to explore Tartarus," she defended. "At least he had the common decency to be interested in the techniques that keep you all alive."

However, Akihiko completely ignored her attempted counter-attack, he wasn't done yet. "You invited him in to the Student Council."

She let out a small sigh. Sometimes, when Akihiko wasn't preoccupied by fighting, he started trying to get a rise out of her like this, and she found it highly annoying. "Arisato's leadership skills are excellent, and he'll be an excellent asset to the Council."

"You actually watched that video that Mochizuki brought yesterday instead of just leaving like you usually would."

Well to be honest she couldn't really help it. After all, she had to admit that a young Arisato singing Y.M.C.A., while embarrassing for him, was very cu...

Not this again. She didn't have time to form that sort of relationship with someone.

She couldn't afford to have that sort of relationship. Especially with someone like Arisato Minato.

"I've told you before. If you continue down this track I will execute you." Her eyes narrowed at the silver-haired boxer.

"Mitsuru..." Akihiko paused. She could see him fighting to say something, and she had an idea what it would be. He was one of her oldest true friends and sometimes the silver-haired boxer could be sweet, but she did not want him getting involved with nuances of her personal problems.

Fortunately she was saved from that little problem as her scanner picked up a reading. "Huh...?" she muttered as she checked the reading, confirming her initial analysis. "It's a Shadow!"

"What!? You actually found one!?" The silver-haired student looked surprised. He knew as well as she did how ineffective her support powers were outside of the confines of Tartarus.

"Wait, something's not right." She checked the reading over once more. "The reading is too big. We've never encountered anything like—"

Hold on a second, maybe they had encountered something like this before, she just hadn't scanned it at the time.

Akihiko was on the same lines. "You mean, it's one of those!?"

"...It must be." There was no other explanation. It had to be one of the larger ones, similar to the one that attacked the dorm almost a month ago.

The one Arisato destroyed in spectacular fashion.

"Well then, this is gonna be fun," the boxer mused, before he looked up and caught the look on her face. "I'll wake up the others."

Mitsuru knew that Akihiko had anticipated the chance to have some action, but she let the tirade about his condition that she was about to unleash slide. She merely watched as the boxer went over to the console and pressed the panic button, causing the sirens to activate. She knew when it wasn't worth reinforcing a point, especially when it was quite obvious that the person at hand had already conceded.

As she waited for the group to assemble she quickly got a bearing on the signal and marked it down on the map. This led to her wondering what the hell a shadow of this magnitude would want in a rundown piece of town near the monorail.

It took the group five minutes to respond the alarm, fully kitted and ready for action. Not bad for beginners, although she wouldn't let them know that.

"Good evening." She looked at the current leader of S.E.E.S.' field team as he gave both of the seniors a nod to accompany his greeting.

"We're here!" Takeba greeted with a cheery smile as she followed Minato into the room.

"Where is it!? I'll rip it a new one!" Iori exclaimed, bouncing on his heels like a child.

Sometimes she had to wonder about Iori's mental age.

"We've detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus," the club leader started to explain. "We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one. We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible." Well that was stating the obvious, the look on Arisato's face made that clear.

However, she couldn't shake the thought that he didn't look that surprised.

"Most people don't know the Dark Hour exists," she continued, explaining why they had been dragged out of their beds. "But, if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic. That must be avoided at all costs."

"In other words, we need to kick some ass, right?" She watched as Arisato sighed and Takeba gave Iori an odd look for his behaviour. "Well, count me in!"

"Junpei..." The brunette finally let out a sigh at the teen's antics.

"Akihiko, you stay here and wait for the Chairman," she commanded the other senior.

"Wha--!? Are you kidding!? I'm going!" Oh come on! They had just been over this... Well this would teach her to think she had the man down pat.

"You still need to recover." Sometimes you had to be cruel to be kind. "You'll just be a hindrance."

She watched as he glared daggers at her before he let out a grunt of discontent as he looked at the team with a look of concern. This made her realise that this wasn't completely down to his obsession about fighting. It seemed like Akihiko had already started to form bonds with the newer members and as such he was frustrated at his inability to help them.

She relaxed her features slightly. "They'll fare better than you, in your current state. Have faith in them, Akihiko... They're ready." She tried assured the boxer while making the team know that they had her confidence. All that was left to do was calm the boxer's aggravation. "You'll get your chance. But for now, wait for the Chairman," she finished by softly repeating her order.

Akihiko was silent for a few moments before he caved in. "Dammit..."

Iori was fast to try and ease the boxer's worries. "Relax! I've got it covered!"

...

Akihiko looked at Iori for a second with a look similar look to the one he'd given the teen during their first trip into Tartarus before giving up and closing his eyes. "I guess I've got no choice..." He opened his eyes and turned his gaze to Arisato. "You're in charge."

Arisato didn't look as shocked this time. However, Mitsuru caught the baseball cap wearing teen giving the blue-haired teen a quick glare before his features fell slightly. "Him again?" he asked.

No one really answered Iori's question, since the answer was quite obvious... That made her wonder, why hadn't Takeba answered it?

No matter. To be honest the mild hostility that Iori had shown towards Arisato was far more of a worry.

"We're counting on you..." she told the blue-haired teen. She was a bit worried that she was piling too much responsibility onto the newcomer; however it seemed that the more you gave him, the greater he exceeded your expectations.

He just gave her a nod in acknowledgement.

"Heh, looks like you're stuck playin' leader again..." Iori pointed out, although she wouldn't have said that. To be honest if the blue-haired teen was 'playing leader' then she wanted to see what happened if he took it seriously. "Sucks to be you."

It was a shame that the ending snipe didn't hold the conviction needed to be taken seriously.

Arisato let it slide he asked the redhead an important question. "So, where are we headed?"

"That's one thing that's puzzling me," she admitted as she moved them over to the spread out map. "From the readings I've received it seems to be coming from this area." She indicated towards the pin that she'd placed earlier.

"Why would it be there?" Takeba wondered as she looked at the place in question.

"What's there?" Arisato asked as he looked over the map.

"That's the old transport district," Iori pointed out. "It's where most of the haulers used to be based, but it's been pretty much run down since the docks moved over to Port Island."

"Taking the haulers with it," Arisato finished the thought off. He paused as he looked over the map, a look of contemplation slipping through his mask before comprehension showed for a split second before the look of indifference came back into play. "Mitsuru-sempai, is there room for error in this reading?"

As she contemplated that thought herself, she was sure she saw Akihiko mouth 'Brave man.' At the teen's comment, she conceded, "I suppose. With a signal this large there could be some slight variance, and there is always a margin for human error."

"Well if I was to guess, I'd put it here." He moved the pin slightly onto the tracks for the monorail.

"Hum, that'd make more sense," Akihiko admitted as he looked over the location. "But if you're wrong you won't be able to get from the tracks to there..." He pointed to the slight hole left by the pin's original position. "...before the Dark hour ends."

"Well there is some collaborating evidence," Arisato pointed out as he picked up the local newspaper from the 8th of May and passed it over to the seniors so they could see the headline on the front page.

'_Safety concerns as number of Apathy Syndrome cases on Monorail system increases.'_

"Well, we have our target," Akihiko stated before he turned to her. "You should let the three of them go first," he suggested. "If you're providing backup out there, you'll need time to get ready, right?"

She couldn't argue with his logic. "Wait for me in front of the station," she told the three active members of the field team. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Yukari replied for the whole group. "Got it," she stated before she turned to Arisato. "Alright, let's go!"

With that they were gone and she had to get ready.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:22_

Minato opened a can of Mad Bull, taking a sip of the caffeine laced energy drink as the trio sat on the stairs outside Iwatodai Station. They had been here for a few minutes already, leaving the question of how much longer Mitsuru-sempai was going to take to get here.

"Where is she?" Yukari asked the question that they all were thinking.

Junpei took a sip from his water bottle. "She'll be here soon," he assured the brunette.

"There's a full moon tonight..." Yukari pointed out as she stood up to get a better look. "But, it looks even creepier during the Dark Hour..."

Full moons. It was odd, but it seemed that everything happened when the moon was full; Ryoji's entrance into his life, the first attack on the dorm and he was sure that it was a full moon when he lo...

"...Huh? What the!?" Junpei's cry broke him out of his contemplation as a motorcycle pulled up right in front of the baseball-capped teen.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Mitsuru apologised as she got off her bike and removed her helmet before she started the briefing. "Listen carefully. Tonight, I'll be providing support from here. Everything else is the same." With that covered she moved onto more pressing matters. "The Shadow is currently located inside a monorail, not far from the station. To get there, you'll have to walk on the tracks."

"Are you serious!?" Junpei demanded as he looked towards the station. "Isn't that dangerous...?"

No shit Sherlock.

"Don't worry; no electronic equipment is operable during the Dark Hour, including the monorails," the redhead assured the taller of the two teens.

Why did he have such a bad feeling about this?

Junpei looked at the vehicle that the redhead had arrived on "But, your bike..."

"It's special," she stated as if that fact explained everything. "Now, if circumstances change, I'll notify you immediately."

Well that meant that it was shielded so the electronics would work during the Dark Hour.

"Let's get started," Mitsuru stated as she pressed a few buttons on the scanning device attached to the back of her bike.

"Alright." Minato stated as he stood up.

"L-Let's do this!" Junpei stated trying to psyche himself up.

With that Minato led them though the station, feeling a slight thrill as they vaulted the barriers and moved to the platform.

"There's a monorail about 300 meters down the track towards Port Island," Mitsuru informed the group over the transceiver. "You have to stop the Shadows before they harm the passengers. Hurry!"

"Got that Mitsuru-sempai," Minato replied as he looked over the edge of the platform, moving a touch to the right before he lowered himself onto the tracks.

"Man, this is insane," Junpei stated as he followed the teen onto the track.

"The sooner we're off the track the better," Minato replied as the group headed up the track.

The trip wasn't long thankfully as Junpei was getting on his nerves with his 'we're going to get electrocuted' tangent, as they moved up to the first carriage on their side.

"This is it...right?" Yukari asked as she looked over the carriage in front of them.

"Can you all hear me?" Mitsuru called over the transceiver.

"Yes, I can hear you clearly," Yukari replied before the others had a chance. "We just got here, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary..."

"The readings are definitely coming from that monorail," Mitsuru assured the trio.

"Got it," Minato replied.

"Proceed with caution, and stay together," Mitsuru commanded as she cut the link.

"Heheh, my Persona's just beggin' to be used!" Junpei stated as he eagerly looked towards the carriage.

The group moved over to the ladder, Yukari taking the lead as she started to climb. This however was stalled as a thought came to the brunette's head, turning to Junpei she told him a simple command. "Don't look up."

Minato could only sigh as Junpei's expression changed to a look of someone who's just had their dog shot.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:27_

The figure shifted his black scarf as he waited patiently for the Dark Hour to end. He was used to this to be honest; the secret hour never had an effect on him, which wasn't surprising considering his previous fate. Now all he had to do was wait for Nii-san to do his thing and then quietly settle the things so that two were down and there were only ten to go.

Sadly, things didn't go as smoothly as planned.

He stood up from his seat as he felt their presence, moving to the rear of the carriage he finally noticed the source of the problem. It wasn't hard to see the issue as there was a man, who wasn't trapped inside the transmogrified shape of a coffin, surrounded by a small group of shadows looking for a good meal.

"Stop," he called drawing the shadow's attention. "This man's time is not yet up. His soul is not yours for the taking."

The shadows simply turned their attention from their prey towards this new threat, seeing that they wouldn't be getting a meal without having to deal with this fool first they charged.

While Ryoji and Minato were effectively the same in many aspects, there were some major differences. Minato was right handed while Ryoji favoured his left, Minato had cobalt coloured hair and silver eyes while the heir had silver hair and cobalt eyes, Minato was a master of efficiency while Ryoji was showy, Minato was a quiet reserved type while Ryoji was outgoing and flirty, Minato walked in the light while Ryoji slinked in the darkness, Minato would put up with a lot of crap before he gave you what you deserved wile Ryoji would get you just for the laugh.

And finally Minato used a one handed sword as his weapon of choice, a weapon that was tried, tested and wasn't flashy in the slightest.

Ryoji pulled out his weapon of choice, twisting the grip to cause the shaft to extent to full length as the curved blade sprung into position. His weapon couldn't be less flashy and let everyone know just who they were dealing with.

The bringer of death was ready to rock.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:32_

"This poor stiff must be a passenger..." Junpei guessed as he put his hand on the coffin by the entrance of the monorail passage. "He's been Transmogged, huh... Creepy. So... guys like him don't remember a thing, right?"

"He's pretty much asleep in there," Minato replied.

"It's probably better that way," Junpei stated as he moved away from the coffin.

Minato closed his eyes, trying to block the image of two coffins in the front seats of a car. "It depends where you are."

"Minato-kun?" Yukari moved over to Minato with a look of concern.

"I'm alright," Minato assured as he gave the brunette a small smile, before looking around the carriage. "Isn't this a bit odd?"

"Huh?" Junpei asked a confused look on his face.

Yukari thought for a minute before she caught on. "Wait a minute. We're not at a station, but the doors are wide—" She was cut off as the door slammed shut, almost as if it had been waiting for the comment.

Oh Hell's teeth.

Junpei rushed to the one of the exits, trying to pry it open before he realised that even with his persona enhanced muscles he couldn't get enough purchase. "Damn, it won't open!" He stated the obvious. "Oww, my fingers! Will ya look at them! They're all jacked up!"

"What's wrong?" Mitsuru's voice came over the transceiver. "What happened!?"

"It looks like we're trapped inside..." Yukari responded as Minato moved to check on Junpei's hands.

"It must be the Shadow... It knows you're there," the heiress concluded. "Be ready for anything! Proceed with extreme caution!"

"Got that," Minato replied as he moved away from Junpei towards the connecting doors between the cars. How come he had the feeling they were about to run a gauntlet?

He drew his longsword as he reached the passageway, noticing that Yukari and Junpei had followed his lead and drawn their weapons as well. He quickly gave the group a few hand signals, asking Junpei to move over to the other side and Yukari to cover the door with her bow. After having to repeat the signals once because of Junpei's confused expression they were now in position.

Minato opened the door; the group waiting for a second to make sure nothing was coming through before Junpei rushed through the portal. Yukari followed, an arrow still notched as she prepared to fire at the first shadow they noticed. Minato brought up the rear, covering their backs as they moved through the portal and closing the door behind them.

Although the whole manoeuvre was fairly sharp, sadly there were only a few coffins in the carriage and that left the blue-haired teen feeling like a right pillock.

"What the heck? I don't see any shadows..." Junpei stated as he scratched his head.

The group moved to the middle of the carriage scanning for any ambushes before relaxing just a touch.

"It's so quiet it's creepy..." Yukari commented.

"They could be trying to put us off," Minato speculated as he concentrated on that feeling of uneasiness he always had around shadows. "There definitely is something here."

"Well no point of just standing around," Junpei stated as he moved towards the next connecting door.

Minato slowly moved to follow him, tightening his grip as the feeling suddenly intensified. As expected a shadow dropped from 'whoever's out there' knows where, leaving the teen to wonder if they could pass through solid objects, before he realised that if they could do that their normal weapons would be useless. Yukari's grasp brought the teen back to the matter at hand.

"There it is!" Junpei exclaimed as a grin appeared on his face.

The shadow looked the trio for a few seconds before it turned its back on the group and ran through the door to the next carriage. Something was wrong with this picture.

Seemed like he wasn't the only one to think so. "Wait! Something's not right..." Mitsuru called over the transceiver causing Junpei to pause and Yukari to let out the breath she'd been holding. "The enemy is acting strangely."

"But, if we don't go after it, we're gonna lose it!" Junpei argued as he looked at the door the shadow had left through.

"Arisato, you're in charge over there," Mitsuru turned her attention to the male teen who was more likely to see reason. "What do you think?"

"Something isn't right," Minato stated. "We should be careful and stick together."

"But, we'll lose it!" Junpei growled back obviously not happy with the decision.

"Junpei, we're on a train. Where is it going to go?" Minato countered the argument.

"Who needs your advice!?" Junpei shouted causing the two other members to look at him in shock. "We can beat that thing no problem! Hell, I'll do it myself!" Before the other two had a chance to stop him he'd gone through the door.

"Stupei!" Yukari yelled obviously incensed with the teen's sheer stupidity. "Get back here!"

"Watch out! Behind you!" The voice of the heiress came over the transceiver as Minato picked up an uneasy feeling coming from behind them.

"We've got bigger problems," Minato replied as tightened his grip on his blade and looked at the two shadows that had dropped down from the roof like the last one.

Yukari spotted the two before she let out a sigh. "This is just what the enemy wanted..."

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:32_

The scythe sliced through the attacking shadow with ease, leaving a trail of black nothingness that faded into the floor. The wielder changed the weapon's arc, although the tight confines of the carriage didn't really help much in that regard and brought the curved blade attached at the top down on another of the entities of the Dark Hour, before he brought the shaft behind him and made a quick leap backwards.

Two down, three to go.

Cake.

The black trench coat wearing figure let out a small chuckle as his black scarf was picked up by an unknown wind, he waited for the next shadow to strike, slipping both hands down to the opposite end of the shaft so he could apply as much force as possible before he swung a vicious downwards swing. The shadow vaporised as expected. However, the curved blade of the scythe carried on its arc and buried itself shaft deep into the floor of the carriage.

Cursing the fact that the cost of repairing the nicked blade probably wouldn't be cheap, Ryoji delivered a persona enhanced kick to the weapon's shaft, just below the embedded blade, causing enough force to dislodge the blade from its position and with a few twirls to bring it back into the ready stance as the heir lunged at the next foe.

The blade lodge into the shadow but it didn't kill it. "Tough little one, aren't you?" The heir mocked as he ripped his scythe out of his injured foe causing an unearthly sound as it evaporated into nothingness. He heir stood there for a second before he brought the lower end of the shaft to block another attack by the final shadow. "Didn't anyone teach you it's impolite to attack someone from behind?"

The shadow seemed fazed, if only for a second, but that was all the heir needed as he turned the weapon so the curved blade faced behind him before twisting his torso as he delivered a one handed strike that slashed through his foe.

"Heh, I'm picking up your bad manners," the teen chuckled as he moved back to the stricken man who had been the shadow's target. "Are you alright?"

"You...? They...? What...?" The man stammered his eyes wide as he stared at the figure in back. "Are you the reaper?"

The teen laughed out loud. "No, no. I am merely a representative," the former Appriser stated as he placed his hand on the man's forehead. "It is not your time yet. Sleep."

The passenger was replaced by a coffin.

He sensed them before he saw them. A large group of shadows, probably around fifteen to twenty, flew through the entryway on the other side of the carriage. He closed his eyes; he didn't have the time to deal with this. He spun his scythe passing it into his off-hand as he reached down to the holster on his belt and drew the Evoker Hiroshi-san had given him on his first day in Iwatodai, bringing to his head he glared at the nuisance in front of him as he growled out one word.

"Thanatos!"

He pulled the trigger.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:33_

Yukari was the first to react, using her persona enhanced feet to hop into the bench, moving higher onto the arm rest and leaping behind the shadows. During this manoeuvre she notched an arrow and was she landed she sent it into the back of the book like shadow.

"Show off," Minato accused with a grin, as he formed a shifting card and placed Ara-Mitama to the fore of his soul, primarily for the strength boost. He evaded the book's clumsy strike, sliding his right foot to the side for purchase as he shifted his weight onto it, bringing down a near vertical counterattack that handled the creature with no problems.

"Heh look who's talking, 'I can change my persona for any occasion and I like to show off'-san," she threw the jibe back.

"Who do you think I am, Stupei?" He laughed as he locked onto the final shadow. "Mitsuru-sempai, I could use a scan here."

"I'm on it," the redhead replied. "Give me a moment."

"It's a shame Mitsuru-sempai isn't here," Yukari noted as she backed off while they waited for the scan to go through. "I hear she's a pretty good fencer."

"I try, but I'm out of practice," the redhead responded, causing the brunette to remember that the link wasn't cut. "Arisato, it's weak to ice attacks. Finish this."

"Thanks Mitsuru-sempai." The teen smirked as he formed Apsaras into a shifting card, swapping her with Ara-Mitama. As he finished the action, he smoothly passed his longsword into his off-hand as he drew his Evoker and with a couple of twirls brought it to his head.

"Apsaras," he called as he pulled the trigger.

The priestess formed above her charge, feeling his request as she raised her arm to the heavens and formed an icy lance that she the directed towards the shadow before she faded back into his soul. The result was as expected. The shadow didn't really have much chance as the lance ripped through it causing it to dissipate into the black vapour that they had gotten used to.

"I wonder what sort of mess Stupei's got himself into," Yukari stated as she got her breath back.

"We have no choice," Mitsuru replied. "You have to go after him, or you'll be picked off, one by one."

"Dammit, Stupei! What are you thinking!?" Yukari growled as dusted off her cardigan. "Remind me to give him a slap when we're out of here," Yukari muttered as followed Minato through the doorway into the next carriage.

"From what I can tell, he's only a few cars ahead," Mitsuru informed the group.

"Then we better get going," Minato replied, checking to see if Yukari was ready before he felt it.

To be honest you couldn't miss it.

It was a huge surge of power, something that couldn't really be missed.

"What was that?" Mitsuru asked, making his point.

Yukari looked wholly confused. "What was what?"

"There was a surge of power," Minato explained to the brunette. "That was massive Mitsuru-sempai."

"Indeed," the redhead replied. "I was able to detect it with my equipment even though I'm concentrating on your location."

Well, whatever it was, it couldn't be ignored. It looked like this big shadow wasn't the be all and end all of tonight. "Can you get a lock?"

"No, it was just a spike." the redhead replied as she checked her equipment. "I couldn't even get a rough location."

The teen held back a sigh; he couldn't get a direction either. Oh well, with no leads it would be a mystery for another time. "We better save Junpei then." He told the two female members as he headed through the access between carriages.

Well that confirmed something that he had gathered from his conversations with Ryoji and the white-haired child. There were more players on the board than S.E.E.S. knew about.

This could get interesting.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:34_

Well that was completely one sided.

The heir kept in a chuckle; of course he knew releasing Thanatos was complete overkill, but what could you do when time was against you? All he could hope for was that the brief second that the bringer of death had returned to the mortal plane was short enough so that S.E.E.S.' support wouldn't be able to get a lock, otherwise things could become difficult.

With all the shadows either defeated or sent running, Mochizuki Ryoji pressed a button near the bottom of the scythe's shaft and twisted it, causing it to shrink back to half its normal size. Having accomplished that he set the curved blade back into the carrying position before he slipped the thing into a black leather holder on the inside of his coat.

With that out of the way he looked for an empty bench before settling back into the seat he'd had before this whole mess started. He pulled out a watch similar to the one Minato had, pulled out a stylus and pressed a few buttons.

'_Welcome to Pong.'_

Nothing else to do but wait.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:34_

"Junpei's not in this car, either," Yukari observed before she let out a sigh. "He should know it's too dangerous to go alone... Don't you think he's acting weird? Did you say something to upset him, Minato-kun?"

Eh...?

"Not that I know of," Minato replied as he scanned the carriage for any more shadows. Why did the bloody thing have to choose one of the eight carriage monorail trains?

"Well, we can ask him once we've caught up to him!" Yukari decided as they started to move for the next carriage. "After I've beaten the crap out of him."

He wouldn't want to be Stupei when that happened.

That thought was seconded when they actually found the baseball cap wearing teen in the next car, holding off four shadows.

"There he is." Yukari kept her reputation for stating the obvious, as Junpei dodge a strike from a shadow and took a swing at one of the book like ones. "Shoot! He's surrounded!? We've gotta help him!"

Well can't argue with that.

Minato drew his Evoker and once again materialised Apsaras. Junpei was informed of their presence by two lances of ice slamming into two of the shadow causing the to dissipate.

"Junpei!" Yukari shouted as she used her Evoker to call on Io, getting the persona to handle the black-haired teen's wounds.

"...I've got it under control!" the black-haired teen assured as he took one final swing and the last shadow evaporated. "Take this, you freak of nature!"

The group gave Junpei a few seconds to regain his breath before Yukari had her say. "See! That's what happens when you don't listen!" she berated the lanky junior. "...So, are you alright?"

Junpei scratched his head, unsure how to take the brunette's mood swing. "O-Of course I am... I was doin' just fine..."

Oh, big mistake.

"Excuse me!" the brunette seethed.

"Be careful, you three!" Mitsuru cut across Yukari so a huge argument wouldn't break out. "I don't detect any movement, but stay alert!"

As if it was just waiting for the suggestion the trio felt a jolt as the train started to move.

"Whoa, what the!?" Junpei moved over to the window to check that his eyes agreed with him other senses. "...Why're we moving!?"

"It seems the monorail is under the enemy's control..." Mitsuru stated.

"Whaddya mean, 'it seems'!?" Yukari shouted out obviously getting annoyed at the situation.

The group felt another jolt as it moved up to an even greater speed.

"Uh... This doesn't look good." Junpei said as he looked back towards the rest of the group.

No shit Sherlock.

There were a few moments of silence before Mitsuru brought things back on track. "...If we can't stop that thing, it'll crash into another train!"

Minato closed his eyes; if this train was to hit another then once again the dark hour would claim the lives of people who didn't have a chance at stopping it, just like...

He clenched his hand around the hilt of his longsword. He'd never let that happen again.

"WHAT!?" Yukari exclaimed. "Oh, God! What are we gonna do!?"

"We head for the first carriage," Minato answered.

"Arisato's right," Mitsuru agreed, trying to calm the brunette down. "I sense a strong presence in the front car. That must be the one we're after. You'll have to defeat it to stop the train."

"Or in a worst case scenario, we apply the emergency break," Minato added.

"You don't have much time!" Mitsuru urged the group on. "Run!"

And they ran.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:36_

Ryoji noticed the light just as he was positioning his paddle. Due to his diverted attention, he missed and the computer got its first point, much to his chagrin. Sighing he quit the game, placed the watch back in his pocket and moved down the carriage to see what the commotion was about. Seeing that the train behind them was moving he suddenly realised what was happening.

It was the endgame.

Obviously Nii-san was doing well enough to force the Arcana shadow into doing such a foolish move as actually activating the train in order to use it was a method of killing the shadow hunters.

Turning the heir returned to his seat and took his watch back out of his pocket once again starting up Pong. If Nii-san failed then they would be dead anyway, this was something he had to do without his help. Babying him would only hold back his natural progression. As such all he could do is sit down and wait.

After all he believed in Nii-san.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:37_

"Move it or lose it!" Junpei shouted out the age old phrase as the group charged through the carriages.

Minato had to admit, fighting against the clock seemed to be an excellent motivational tool. He even considered telling the others that they had installed a bomb in Tartarus and if they didn't clear 5 floors per session, then they would blow the thing up before realising that it was just a stupid idea.

They were going so fast they nearly lost their footing as the carriage jolted again.

"H-Hey!? We're gaining speed!" Yukari stated.

Thank you 'captain stating the bloody obvious'!

A shadow formed in the field squad leader's way, but the teen didn't even bat an eyelid as he slightly modified his path and swung his longsword, the forward motion enough to slash right through his foe, he didn't even break stride as the shadow dissipated.

Finally they had reached the first carriage.

To see a large female shadow was blocking their path to the controls.

"There are the controls...!" Junpei stated before he got a decent look at the shadow. "What the hell!? ...Is this the friggin' boss?"

"Looks that way," Minato replied as he prepared to have Mitsuru scan it.

"We're in the front car; it's gotta be!" Yukari speculated as she notched an arrow.

"You're running out of time," Mitsuru told them over the transceiver. "Hurry!"

Yukari started the festivities by letting lose an arrow. It hit the mark, but didn't really have the effect she'd been hoping for.

"Mitsuru-sempai, we need a scan," Minato requested as he waited, holding back. Best to know what you're up against before you inadvertently made the situation worse.

"Alright, but I've never seen anything like this," Mitsuru told him over the transceiver. "Give me some time."

Junpei drew its attention as he used his Evoker to call Hermes who then dived in on the shadow, slashing with its triangular pieced of metal attached along the length of his arms.

It rewarded this action by creating small shards of ice and throwing them at the whole party.

Minato got off lucky with a graze to the arm, Yukari took one through her leg and Junpei had one graze his hip. Knowing that this was going to be a problem Minato decided that the best action would not be to only heal the wounds, but to stop the attacks hitting in the first place.

He stabbed his longsword into the metal floor of the carriage, thinking about how lucky it was that by the time the operators noticed the damage through the train they would be long gone. With his hands now free he placed Orpheus on a shifting card; bring it to his face and crushing it before her replaced Apsaras at the fore of his soul. Having done that he quickly brought his Evoker to his head and pulled the trigger.

The two personas played their song of healing; curing the damage caused and made the party feel lighter on their feet.

"It's Arcana is the Priestess. Don't use ice attacks," Mitsuru informed the group on her findings. "The results would be worse than futile."

Well that meant Apsaras was out of the picture; the teen used the shifting technique to place Orpheus to the fore of his mind before he let loose with a fire attack.

He smirked as he pulled his blade free of the floor. That was more like it.

This was rewarded as the Priestess called two of its underlings to its aid.

"Oh come on!" Junpei growled as he called Hermes once again, willing his persona to hit its foe with a fire attack.

Minato followed suit, as Yukari called Io to patch up Junpei.

"You're nearly there," Mitsuru announced over the transceiver as Minato watched Junpei dodge a fire attack sent out by one of the smaller shadows.

That comment was just asking for trouble, which, ironically enough, was granted as one of the smaller shadows cast a healing spell on the shadow's leader. Felling stronger the Priestess once again let out a shower of icy shards towards the party.

Minato took one through the leg, grunting a little the field leader quickly did some calculations. "Mitsuru-san how much time do we have before we hit Port Island Station?"

"About two and a half minutes," the redhead supplied. "No more than three."

The teen bit back a curse. The way things were going they wouldn't make it in time. The two other shadows, things he identifies as Muttering Tiaras, were a problem. They needed to be dealt with otherwise they would just keep healing the Priestess. If he shifted back to Apsaras he could hit both of them with her lances of ice, at best this would remove the problem all together, at

worst it would take them out of action for a turn while they recovered. However the party was once again in a bad state and Yukari wouldn't be able to patch them all up before the next onslaught. Orpheus and Apsaras could handle it no problem, save for the fact that these bloody small bastards could possibly heal each other. If that happened before Yukari and Junpei could take one down, something he couldn't be positive about them doing, then they would be back to square one with little time and low spiritual power.

_All you have to do is call out to him._

Suddenly time seemed to stop; Minato looked around for a second before he noticed who the voice was coming from.

"It's you," the blue-haired teen replied as he looked at the child in white who kept appearing before him.

"If you shift Orpheus into your mind and call for help he will answer your call." The child saw the confused look on the teen's face and elaborated. "The persona you called for on the last full moon. With his help an Arcana shadow like this just a mere nuisance."

"No."

"No?"

"I won't allow him to become a crutch I have to be able to call on him when it matters." The teen stated calmly. "He has to be a trump card for situations where his powers are the only way through, not something to call on when things get slightly difficult."

"Then you have grown." The child gave him a small smile as he declared, "You have passed."

"Passed?"

"Those who are granted power must prove they can handle it responsibly," the child explained as he turned his back on the teenager. "I will check on you in a few days. I have something to ask you after all."

"I don't even know your name," Minato stated as the child turned walked away.

"Name?" the child inquired, a bit surprised. "Ah yes, something which identifies you." The child contemplated the topic for a second before he carried on. "I usually don't go by a name, but some call me Pharos, use that if you wish."

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Judgment Arcana..._

Judgment?

"I would wish you luck," Pharos said as he started to fade. "But I know in my heart you will be victorious."

Yeah, all he needed to do was pull off both actions and they'd be fine.

Hold on...

Why couldn't he do both?

As time started to flow again the teen a feeling of hope lit the visible silver eye. He had a plan, all he could hope for was that it would work.

Although he didn't know and wouldn't be told until much later, Yukari and Junpei were sure that the blue-haired teen's silver eye glowed pure white.

He wouldn't let it happen again. Not now, not ever.

He shifted Apsaras in for Orpheus, shifting his weapon into his off-hand as he brought his Evoker to the side of his head and pulled the trigger. The persona answered his call, materialising above him and sending a lance of ice into each of the Muttering Tiaras. With that dealt with the teen tossed his Evoker into the air, passing his blade back into his on hand he flicked it into the ground as he called Orpheus into a shifting card and crushed it in front of his face.

With an unnatural ease he caught his Evoker on the way down, bring it to his head he pulled the trigger.

He held in a groan as his leg was healed by the soothing notes, felt his reactions becoming sharper. The game was on.

"Right!" Junpei yelled as he lunched himself at the Priestess. "Payback's a bitch. But not as much as you!"

Minato could only shake his head at the worst war cry he'd ever heard, but he had to give the black-haired teen credit where it was due, the vicious slash was bang on target. Yukari followed by having Io unleash a wind attack at the staggered shadow.

Minato didn't let up the relentless assault; shifting Orpheus to the fore of his soul before he once again called on his other self's strength. The persona materialised and dived straight at the Priestess, pulling his harp from behind his back the persona didn't hesitate, as it slammed the instrument into the shadow's mask. That was enough to cause it to sublimate into nothingness.

But it still left a very good question.

"Did we make it in time?" Junpei was right on the money, running over to the window he had his answer. "...Hey! Why're we still moving!?"

"We're going too fast! We have to put on the brakes or else...!" Yukari stated as she went into a mild panic.

"What are you waiting for!?" Mitsuru yelled over the transceiver. "There's a train up ahead!"

"Dammit! I don't know how to stop this thing!" Junpei stated as he viewed the console from afar, giving up and turning away from the view in front of him.

Never again.

As Yukari screamed, bracing her head in her hands in a futile form of protection, the blue-haired teen moved out of instinct, driven by his emotions on the events that had happened all those years ago. His eyes had a quick scan of the console as he slammed his hand down on the button. The brakes reacted immediately, the wheels screaming in protest as their speed dropped and their momentum lessened. Anxious seconds passed at an excruciatingly slow pace as they were almost thrown forward from the shift in direction. The force pushing the three forward lessened, more and more as the moments slowly passed, the noise outside reduced from a squeal to a quiet murmur. Then, the train stopped.

There was silence for a few seconds.

"D-Did we stop...?" Junpei asked as he looked back towards the front of the train.

"I-I think so..." Yukari stated. Her knees were unable to take her shaking anymore as she collapsed to a kneeling position.

"Is everyone alright!?" Mitsuru asked. The urgency and worry could be picked up even through the distortion left by the device she communicated through.

"Uh, y-yeah, we're okay," Yukari answered as she broke into nervous giggles. "My knees are shaking..." she admitted finally.

"Dude... I'm like drenched in sweat..." Junpei replied as he sat down on one of the benches.

"Arisato? Are you alright?" Mitsuru asked as she noticed the field leader hadn't replied.

Minato closed his eyes, a genuine smile appearing on his face.

He had succeeded.

"I'm fine, Mitsuru-sempai," the teen replied calmly.

The group heard the sigh of relief over the transceiver. "I'm so glad you're safe..." The heiress stated before her tone turned apologetic. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more on my end. I don't detect any more Shadows. You guys did a great job, so come on home."

Well you couldn't argue with that idea.

"Minato-kun?" The blue-haired teen turned to the brunette as she got back onto her feet. "How did you know which one was the brake?"

"It was instinct," the teen replied before a smirk broke out from behind his mask. "I just went for the large red button that had stop written on it in large white lettering."

"Are you shittin' me!?" Junpei shook his head in disbelief before he gave up. "Ah, whatever. Man, I'm freakin' hungry; wanna grab a bite to eat? Hagakure? My treat!"

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana..._

That was the first thing Junpei had suggested all night that he could fully get behind.

All they had to do was wait for twelve minutes until the Dark Hour ended.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:52_

Kirijo Mitsuru was having a dilemma.

After the link had closed with the field team, she had pulled out a laptop, shielded of course, and started to analyse the data they had gathered from the encounter tonight. She needed to confirm what she had felt during the encounter with the big Priestess Arcana based shadow, scanning through the data she found what she was looking for.

For a few moments during the encounter with the Priestess Arisato's power level spiked, going over far beyond the level he normally showed.

Thus, the problem she was currently battling with.

As a member of the Kirijo family, she had a responsibility to restore the family's honour by fixing their previous mistakes. This was one of her main driving factors and she would do much to achieve this. Normally she would pass this information over to the Chairman so he could analyse it for further research. However, he had been oddly negative about Arisato's place within S.E.E.S., saying that they were placing too much trust in a relative newcomer and they shouldn't rely on him too much. She had brushed these claims aside. After all, without Arisato, they wouldn't be in the position they were in now. His leadership skills and ability to change his persona to suit the situation were major assets. With the present data, however, the Chairman would have another point to throw into the argument.

The power reading also brought up another question.

"Who are you Arisato Minato?"

Since he had arrived in Iwatodai, things had been moving around him, and although the Chairman didn't fully trust him, the rest of the group did. Akihiko had warmed up to him, exceptionally well considering they didn't spend much time together. Takeba was positively smitten, a fact that still annoyed her somewhat, and while Iori was jealous of the teen's skills, he respected the blue-haired leader, and his effect on Mitsuru herself, frankly, scared her.

Arisato Minato seemed to be at the heart of things here. She had to wonder; was it fate that brought him to Iwatodai?

"Fate is a word used by those who look at the past in order to make them feel better about their inactions," a voice calmly said to her left.

Wishing she had actually brought a foil, the heiress spun around, her hand grabbing hold of her Evoker in order to defend herself from the... small child who stood in front of her.

"Who...?" She started to question the child, as she took in his appearance. He had white hair, familiar silver eyes and a pale complexion, which wasn't helped by the fact that all his clothes were white as well. What did hit her was that she had seen him somewhere before.

"You fear relationships," the child calmly stated, ignoring the redhead's query altogether. "Not for the normal reasons that people your age have, but because of the chains your current relationships place upon you."

"What...?" Mitsuru muttered before she regained her senses. "Who are you!?"

Once again the child ignored her as he moved back into the shadows. "Don't be scared of forming bonds with people who have gained your trust," he advised. "And be careful about giving your trust to those who haven't earned it." Once he had delivered his message he moved further into the shadows. "We will meet again Kirijo Mitsuru."

"Stop!" the redhead called as she drew her only weapon. It was too late, however, and the child was gone.

She considered the child's comments for a moment before she disregarded them; after all, there was a chance that she was imagining the whole thing.

Maybe her sub-conscience was trying to tell her something.

She looked back at the laptop, taking a few moments to contemplate before she brought up the file that held the combat data from the fight between the field team and the Priestess.

Before she could come to a decision one way or the other her transceiver started to beep.

"Kirijo," she answered as she started the connection.

"Akihiko here," the silver haired boxer came over the device. "How are things going?"

"We've successfully completed the operation. The monorail didn't sustain any noticeable damage," she reported. "I've sent the team back to the dorm."

"Thank you, Mitsuru. When I'd heard they hijacked a monorail, I feared the worst," the Chairman stated. "Well done. Now, I don't have to worry about tomorrow's headlines."

"The team did a great job." She added in the praise they were due. "They're learning quickly."

"I take it that goes for Arisato Minato as well?" the Chairman inquired, obviously looking for some ammunition to use in their next discussion.

'_And be careful about giving your trust to those who haven't earned it.'_

Seeing an argument on the horizon, Akihiko put the topic back onto the matter at hand. "But, what are the Shadows up to? Taking over a monorail..." He paused as he shook his head in disbelief. "This is getting out of hand."

He had no idea.

"I'll be looking into the matter," the Chairman stated, leaving the heiress to wonder how he would do that. After all he shouldn't have access to any more information than she had...

"Does this mean... it's begun?" she asked although she was sure of the answer.

"Hmmm... Let's not jump to any conclusions," the scientist decided. "For now, we should study their behaviour for patterns or clues. We cannot afford to always wait for them to make the first move."

Well that was true.

"If I had more power, things wouldn't be so difficult for the others," she stated with an edge of self loathing.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing fine," the Chairman assured the heiress. "More importantly... Do you have anything to drink, Akihiko?"

She cut the link, her mind made up on the best course of action. She selected the file and hit the delete key.

She could only hope that this wasn't just her hormones talking.

--

_Saturday, 9th of May 2009. DH:55_

Well that was cutting it a bit fine.

The heir chuckled as he hopped down from the carriage he'd been on and moved the full five feet that there was left between his carriage and the one that had nearly slammed into it. He was sure that Nii-san had some sort of divine timing; he always seemed to pull things out of the bag at the last minute. He had felt Pharos link Minato into Messiah's attributes, however he hadn't detected the presence of the persona himself.

Nii-san was growing as he'd expected.

Climbing into the first carriage of the train the members of S.E.E.S. had just vacated, he moved towards the presence he could detect near the controls.

"You put up a good fight." He consoled as it felt his approach. "But the occupants of this planet aren't willing to bow down to fate just yet."

He pulled out a blank card and turned the front towards the presence, watching once again as the card did it's magic and drew the remains of the Arcana shadow into its clutches.

Once the whole process was over, he turned over and found himself looking at the Major Arcana card number two: The Priestess.

Two down, ten to go.

--

_Sunday, 10th of May 2009. 11:24_

To say that Arisato Minato was exhausted, worn-out, or simply tired would have been understatements.

He would have slept in, but he already had plans for today, and since he'd already put them off for ten years he couldn't really afford to do it anymore. Slipping from bed he had a shower, and once refreshed he opened his wardrobe and pulled out a charcoal grey suit, white shirt and a matching gray tie. Since he'd put this off for so long he may as well try and do it properly.

Once dressed he quickly grabbed his keys and his mp3 player before he left the dorm.

--

_Sunday, 10th of May 2009. 12:03_

"Morning Nii-san!" Minato had to hold in a grumble as he approached the hyperactive teenager.

It was too early for this.

Although Minato had to admit, the fact that the teen had brought him a take-away cup from Chagall Cafe did earn the idiot some points.

Taking the elixir of life, the teen had a good chug before he spoke. "I know we said that we'd do lunch, but I want to get this over with."

The heir let his mask fall for a moment as a sad smile lit his features. "Alright Nii-san."

The pair made a quick stop at the florist before they took the monorail back to mainland Iwatodai.

--

_Sunday, 10th of May 2009. 12:43_

Once the two brothers had Iwatodai Station, they took a different path from the usual. Minato feeling glad that he'd checked the directions on the internet before he headed off. Finally, after a few minutes of trying to find the entrance, they found themselves in their target location.

A graveyard.

It took them a while to find what they were looking for. After all, neither of them had actually come here in the past; Ryoji had no reason apart from moral support and Minato hadn't been ready.

But now he found himself standing in front of a grave marker, Ryoji having moved away to give the teen a few minutes to himself. He reached down, wiping the dust off the plaque to check that he was indeed at the right grave.

'_Here Lies:'_

'_Arisato Itsuto'_

'_Arisato Rieka'_

The teen placed the bouquet of flowers down by the grave as he got back to his feet. He had heard that many people talked their dead relatives by their grave, believing that their voice would reach them in whatever followed.

Minato wasn't a believer in superstition, but what the hell.

"Hello Otou-san, Okaa-san."

**End of Chapter 10**

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Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Usual typo fix and fixing a few errors spotted in reviews.

1.02 – Completed with Editing from Vocarin

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	11. Chapter 11

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

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Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Well another week, another chapter and an interesting week it was. With the Olympics over (GB ended up in fourth place to our complete surprise.) and work easing down a bit I have some of my free time back so I should be back on track for chapter release and I shouldn't miss as many mistakes in my initial scan through.

Anyway this one has quite a bit of original content compared to the others as it deals with the aftermath of the last full moon (2 days in over 7k, sheesh) and it holds a bit less humour than the chapters before hand, I think so I hope everyone enjoys.

On a side note, I want to make it clear that I'm not getting anything from Nerf for product placement. I also want to disassociate myself from the comment Maelstorm969 made in the review for the last chapter, in a feeble attempt to protect myself from the SMT lynch mob. After all that's sacrilege isn't it?

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

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**Chapter 11:**

_Sunday, 10th of May 2009. 12:48_

"Hello Otou-san, Okaa-san."

The teen felt his mask drop as he looked down towards the grave, the wind picking up his fringe and revealing the other window to his soul. After a few moments spent crushing the worry that he looked like a complete pillock, he decided that since he had started, he may as well finish what he came to do. After all, that was important if things with the Dark Hour continued on how they started.

"Sorry I didn't come sooner," he started. "But I wasn't ready..." He paused, shaking his head as he admitted: "Hell, I doubt I'm ready now, but I'm a lot better now than when I left, and I can't keep making excuses."

He never thought that he'd come here at all, to be honest. This was something he wouldn't have even considered before the whole mess with the Shadows started. However, as was its way, things change with time, and since he had realised that he would have to face the concept of his own death, the fewer regrets he had the better.

"Things are going well at school..." He paused, not understanding why he was jabbering off this inane small talk. This wasn't who he was; this wasn't what he wanted his parents to hear. "But that's not why I'm here." He took a breath. "I've started to look into things, the Dark Hour, the Shadows, the reason why I can't remember what happened that night on that bridge..."

He paused, unsure what else he could say. He was used to actually listening to people, coming to his own conclusions and making them as efficiently as possible. He wasn't good at lengthening things out, and he'd never been one to use small talk, although that was getting slightly better nowadays especially compared to after...

...best to look to the future and in that case he knew what to say.

"I'm going to discover the truth about all of this, even if I have to drag it out kicking and screaming," he promised. "I'm not sure how or when, but I'll find a way." A smirk appeared on his face. "After all, Otou-san, there's nothing like solving a good mystery, right?"

He let out a nervous chuckle. This was worse than pulling teeth. To be honest, he was here for one reason, something that needed to be said. Not only for his parent's benefit but also for his own.

"I'm sorry." He looked away for a moment before his eyes refocused on the engraved names on the marble. "I couldn't help you all those years ago. I've spent all these years thinking over it and even if I had the chance again, I'm not sure if I would have been able to save you. I'm not sure if I can save anyone else, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try."

He couldn't think of anything else to say… well that wasn't true, there was one more thing. Something he knew he had to say.

"I don't know if I'll be back again." He let a single lone tear run down his cheek. "But I want you to know that I miss you."

Deciding that he'd tortured himself enough, he took a step away from the marker giving a half bow before he finished what he started.

"Goodbye."

--

_Sunday, 10th of May 2009. 12:56_

From his position leaning on a tree a short distance away, Ryoji bowed his head down as his brother finished his broken monologue. He knew why his blue-haired brother had asked him to accompany him: not as a shoulder to cry on it or for moral support, well not in that way at least. It wasn't Minato's way to show what he was really feeling; the blue-haired teen was one to draw his emotions deep inside, and the heir had always worried that one day the end result could be disastrous.

Nii-san could end up like he was after the actual accident again.

"Ryoji?"

The heir turned his attention back towards the cobalt-haired junior, noticing that his mask hadn't fallen back into place. "Yes Nii-san?"

"Do you think I could have stopped it?" the teen asked as he looked down at the grave.

How the hell do you respond with that?

"No," the teen finally decided on. "It was their time."

Anger flared on the teen's face before he managed to rein it in. "Why?"

"Because you can't change the past," the heir explained. "There is no point at looking back and thinking 'if only' or 'what if'. All you can do look forward."

"Easier said than done," Minato sighed as he looked down on the grave.

"Minato." He paused, what he was about to do was risky, but this was for Nii-san. "Why did you accept the power of Persona?"

"How do you...?" the junior started to ask before he paused for a moment then sighed. Had this been at any other time Minato would have been all over him. However he had gambled on the teen's current condition and oddly enough it paid off. "Let me guess: 'You can't tell me.'"

The heir merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Well what else could I do?" the teen asked.

"There is always a choice, Nii-san," the heir stated. "You could have decided to say 'fuck this' and let it kill you."

"No." Quickly answered. "If I had done that then everyone would have been..."

A smile lit the heir's face; his brother was starting to understand. "There is always a choice Nii-san. You chose to accept the reasonability that being the Cipher in order to protect those around you."

The teen looked up at the sky. "So, all I can do is make sure that I don't add to my list of my regrets?"

"That's one way to look at it. This life is transitory; our souls will continue to travel through the cycle of life and death as they always have, and what happens to our conscience, well... that's another story."

Live life with as few regrets as possible, eh?

Well, he wasn't the best advertisement for that. After all, there was something else on his mind as well, one of the things that he couldn't tell his brother, not yet in any case and even if he could, he was stumped about how he would tell him.

How could he tell Nii-san that the only reasonable way to stop the events, which had started to unfold, would result in the Dark Hour existing forever?

There was silence for a moment before the blue-haired teen's voice called for his attention again. "Ryoji?"

"Yes, Nii-san?" the heir asked as he turned to face the teen.

Eyes narrowed as his mask fell back into place. "What the hell do you mean by a Cipher?"

Oh bother.

--

_Sunday, 10th of May 2009. 14:42_

Kirijo Mitsuru was someone who liked to be on top of everything.

Although she never put it that way since it led to the less sensible members of the male population with the survival instincts of... Well the obvious choice would be lemmings, but that wasn't factually accurate...

...you got the idea.

Anyway, they would turn that phrase into the highly uncreative: 'Kirijo Mitsuru likes to be on top!' which was typically followed by a snigger and, if she was present, swift vengeance in the form of an execution. Back to the topic on hand. Mitsuru was someone who liked to understand everything that was going on around her. Granted it was an impossible task, but she could usually understand, evaluate and prepare for any situation that arose.

Until the mysterious white-haired child appeared to her last night.

After she had returned to the dorm, she had spent a good few hours going over the recorded data from last night. The mission hadn't ended when the child had appeared, so there should be a record. Not to mention that the child must have used a decent amount of power to pull the appear/disappear act he had. Sadly her instruments didn't agree with her assumption. All reports from around Dark Hour, fifty to one minute past midnight showed no real activity, a few negligible changes from the base line, but nothing that she could use to get a reading on her quandary. She'd given up last night, deciding that having a good sleep before returning to the data analysis with renewed vigor would allow her to make some headway.

Sadly, she was mistaken.

Maybe she had to take into account that the boy may not have been there physically at all, he could be a psychic. Granted, there were holes in that theory as well: to make a connection with her, someone whom he'd never met in person, would require a large amount of power and the scanners would have picked that up. Granted that there were ways of dropping the power required for such a link, and decreasing the distance was the simplest method she could think of, but to drop the power required to levels that it would be disguised by the light background noise that the Dark Hour always emitted would require the distance to be so close that it would make the whole thing futile.

The other viable method would be to use an already established link that was already formed between herself and the child. However she'd never met this child before, although he was hauntingly similar and she was positive that the power to create such a link would be high enough and in such proximity that she'd be able to detect it, even without her equipment.

Urgh... Maybe it was time to give it a rest for now, without more details she'd get nowhere.

One thing she could be glad for however, was that she'd deleted the reports from the encounter with the Shadow that had been commonly dubbed 'The Priestess' by the members of the field

team. After she had returned the Chairman had instantly wanted the data from the battle, citing the need to analyse the Shadow in order to learn more about these larger ones.

She had an excuse already prepared, stating that the data had been corrupted, going on to explain that it looked like sections of the memory in her scanning equipment had been damaged, probably from the power surge during the night of their first encounter with a Shadow of this kind and she would have to run a full diagnostic to see if the bad areas could just be ignored or if new memory chips were needed.

To say the Chairman wasn't happy was an understatement, but he had no real reason to complain, after all the memory chips were actually damaged... Granted, that was after she'd taken them out and shorted them, but they were damaged. The downside of this was that they wouldn't be able to go to Tartarus until new chips were acquired. Luckily that wouldn't be too long, Monday night at latest.

And then there was the issue of Arisato. Again. The Chairman was making his view clear that he didn't like the fact that a person who was essentially a newcomer had come along and effectively taken over the field operations of S.E.E.S. coincidentally just as the larger Shadows had started to make their move. It was almost as if he was implicating that Arisato was a spy of some sort, sent to infiltrate S.E.E.S. and sabotage their operations from within.

As far as she was concerned, that was complete rubbish. Arisato's actions didn't imply that he was some sort of spy. Such a person would have wanted to get involved, but also keep a low enough profile to be able to move around with little chance of detection. Arisato couldn't have made a more high profile entrance into their lives if he'd parachuted into the dorm with a neon light sign attached to his chest.

He also didn't have the right mentality to be a spy. His way was to keep his thoughts to himself, evaluate the situation, investigate any questions that hadn't been answered to his satisfaction and then act. Arisato was more of a detective than a spy; he seemed to be drawn to mysteries instead of shadows.

The front door creaked open. Speak of the devil.

"Afternoon, Sempai," the blue-haired teen greeted as he removed his headphones and moved into the dorm. She noted the charcoal suit the teen was wearing, taking into account that he'd removed his tie that was now draped from his left suit jacket pocket, unbuttoned the first couple of button on his shirt, and left his suit jacket undone, his hands pushing it back as they rested within his trouser pockets.

She had to admit he looked good in a suit.

However the most noticeable thing was just how tired he looked.

"Arisato," she returned the greeting before she asked the question on her mind. "Long day?"

"I've just had lunch with the Mochizuki Ryoji," he replied as if that explained everything.

"Ah," she replied as she settled back into her chair. "I've heard about the heir of Mochizuki Enterprises. Is he as..." she stopped for a second trying to settle on the right word before she settled on "...vibrant, as people say?"

"He's a pain in the arse," the teen replied with a wry smile. "But his heart is in the right place, you just have to deal with his head."

There was something that puzzled her since she'd met the heir of a conglomerate that rivalled the one her family had built up in Japan, and dwarfed them internationally. She had read up on the heir; he had been raised in secret, taught by private tutors until he was eight. Once he had hit his eighth year, he had been placed into a boarding school until he had been expelled four years later, and after that he'd returned back to being taught by private tutors. How had Arisato created such a long lasting friendship with someone who shouldn't have given the teen the time of day in such a quick time?

"You seem to know him well," she noted, hoping to hook the teen into revealing more about himself.

Minato let out a small chuckle. "We were placed in the same boarding room," he replied. "The school was pretty strict; they had a policy that if someone in a room caused trouble it was a reflection on the room as a whole, and that's not a good thing when you're rooming with a prankster."

"I can imagine," the redhead replied.

"Anyway, it wasn't long before I became the person charged with keeping the idiot out of trouble... or at least keeping said trouble out of the room so it wouldn't be linked to us." She watched as the teen made himself comfortable on the arm of one of the sofas before he continued. "Half the time that just meant that I got pulled in for the ride. I suppose from there we formed the friendship we have."

A smirk lit up the redhead's face. "I was told by Yukari that when he introduced himself you weren't that welcoming."

"Mitsuru-sempai... Ryoji is trouble-incarnate," he explained. "With everything we're going through the last thing I need is Ryoji turning up and adding more chaos to the mix."

Well she could see the point in his argument, especially after the whole Y.M.C.A. debacle on Friday night.

"I'm going to go and get changed," the teen said as he stood up. "It's best to get the studying out of the way before the mid-terms start."

"Arisato?" She wasn't going to say anything, but she needed to get this off her chest and Arisato was the one most likely not to press too much.

"Hmm." The teen turned towards the redhead, stopping his move for the stairs.

"I wasn't strong enough last time, which resulted in a difficult situation," the heiress started while looking at the book in her lap. She may be willing to say this to Arisato, but she couldn't say this while looking him in the face, otherwise he'd be able to look straight through her. "I apologize for that."

"No need to apologize," the teen replied.

"That's very kind of you," she told him, unable to believe that the blue-haired teen could dismiss this so easily. "But, even if you forgive me, I don't think I can forgive myself. I promise to be stronger if there is a next time."

"Mitsuru-sempai... let me ask you something." He paused for a second, obviously thinking of a way to reply before he continued. "Are you trying your hardest?"

"What?" The comment threw her off guard; she'd expected many things but not that.

"Are you trying your hardest?" he asked again.

She tried to control the rage that gathered with her; how dare he accuse her of not giving her all. "Of course I do! This mission is of..." Partway through her defence, she made the cardinal sin.

She looked him in the eye, seeing her way through the mask and being disarmed by the sadness that showed in his eye.

"Then I don't see what you're apologising for," the teen remarked with a sad smile. "As far as I can see you're operating in a field that isn't your speciality, with a Persona not cut out for it and the resolve to work around that and give your best. You have nothing to apologise for."

"Arisato..." Well what could you say to that?

"You're not alone," he explained. "Akihiko-sempai and I are here too; even Yukari and Junpei want to help. Just give us your best and we'll take it from here."

There was silence for a few seconds; she imagined that the teen had thought that he'd overstepped the mark as he scanned the room for a second before deciding a quick retreat would be in order.

"See you later." With that the blue-haired teen slipped up the stairs and out of her presence.

Damn him.

Of all the people she'd met, Arisato had to be one of the few she couldn't read. His shields were that good, too good for what just happened to be a slip.

He'd let her in.

If you looked at it the Chairman's way then, yes, that did make him a suspicious character, but it was in the same way you were suspicious of the cheeky rogue in movies. The type of character who you always think is going to sell everyone out and then you find out that in reality he's been keeping an eye on the real traitor, who turned out to be a long time friend of one of the other heroes.

In many ways Arisato was a mystery to her, even with the clue he'd just given and she knew that this fact only added to the attraction. However there were things that needed answering and she had a feeling that Arisato Minato would be in the heart of the events that would lead to answers.

All she could do was to prepare, observe, and, when the time was right, react; after all, she liked to have control of the situation. But there was one thing that took some of the pressure away and although he had gone, there was something that she wanted to say, but couldn't to his face.

"I'm glad you're here Arisato Minato."

--

_Sunday, 10th of May 2009. 19:42_

He felt tired.

To be honest, the day had just drained all the energy out of him, although he'd known that going through with his plans for today, especially after the events last night, would be draining. Of course, this wasn't helped by the actions of the idiot. How the hell could Ryoji expect him not to ask too much when the idiot kept leaking clues that just begged to be followed up?

What the hell was a Cipher?

He knew the definition of the word, and also that it was a term used in encryption. It was something that alone meant nothing, but when it was used in conjunction with other things it became something else entirely.

Hadn't Igor said something similar about the Fool?

Urgh... This was getting nowhere. He'd underestimated just how bad the after effects would be, and his attempts to decipher all of this in this state were frankly futile. Realising that the same thing would be true about studying, he gave up, picking up the remote to the TV and started to browse through the channels...

'_Here comes Tanakaaaaa' _

'_Over the-'_

_Click_

Sod that for a laugh.

There were far more relaxing things than that, things that included pulling out teeth with rusty pliers, or allowing Ryoji to have a free shot with that Nerf baseball bat. Maybe the best idea would be to sit back with a book of short stories and have a casual browse though until it was a reasonable time to get some sleep.

Sadly, his plans were shot to hell as his phone rang.

"Arisato," he answered after receiving the call.

"Hello?" a familiar voice answered from the other end of the line. "This is Elizabeth."

"Evening, Elizabeth-san," the teen stated as he sat up. This could spell trouble.

"I'm calling to inform you of a change in Tartarus." He heard her pause as the sound of ruffling papers could be heard in the background. "I believe that the path that was blocked is now open. I thought you might like to know. ...I wish you a safe journey."

"Right, thanks for the heads up Elizabeth-san." Minato thanked the elevator assistant as his mind worked overtime. Was the change in Tartarus due to the demise of the large Shadow they had defeated last night?

"There is something else..." Oh please, 'whoever's up there' please, not another outing. He'd enjoyed the last one, but he still needed some time to recuperate before he watched the chaos that was Elizabeth descend on another part of Iwatodai. "Please come to the Velvet Room at your earliest convenience, there is another service that we wish to make available to you."

"Alight, I'll see you when I can get over," the teen replied. "Until then, see you later Elizabeth-san."

"Farewell," the assistant replied a moment before the phone call ended.

Well this should be interesting. What could the residents of the Velvet Room offer him this time?

Although he was tired, his thoughts didn't allow the blue-haired teen to sleep for a while.

--

_Monday, 11th of May 2009. 07:42_

Minato felt better actually. There was nothing like having something on your mind to tire you out. He'd decided that he wouldn't find out what Elizabeth-san wanted until he met her later today, and until then it would be best to put it to a side. The other issue, the mysteries of Tartarus, could only be answered in one place: the tower itself.

"Wazzup!" Minato turned to the side to see that Junpei had fallen in beside him.

"Wazzup?" the blue-haired teen queried as he gave the teen a look of confusion. What the hell was 'Wazzup'?

The black-haired teen just sighed. "Dude, you need to get out more, pick up some of this great modern culture."

Minato simply kept his mouth shut; he'd sooner watch paint dry.

"Today is just an ordinary day, huh?" Junpei stated as he looked around to make sure they weren't being overheard. "That was crazy though, the day before yesterday. I've never had that kinda thrill in all my life... Don't you think it's been getting more exciting lately?"

In a way it had. Since the Shadows and Personas came into his life, things had become more hectic, to say the least. The real question was, therefore, was it something to get excited over?

"I think we're cursed." the blue-haired teen responded as he stopped near the gates.

He looked at Junpei expression of disbelief before the baseball-cap wearing teen finally responded the way Minato had expected. "Dude, are you crazy!? We've got the power of Persona!" Minato watched as the black-haired teen gestured wildly, his voice raised enough that the teen was worried that others could hear. "Plus, we won the battle and saved the city... How sweet is that!?"

The cobalt-haired teen shook his head as began his explanation. "There's an old Chinese curse, Junpei: 'May you live in interesting times.' I have a feeling that we're under the effects of that."

"Doesn't sound that dangerous to be honest," the black-haired teen replied, an uninterested look on his face.

Oh, it was dangerous alright, he was sure about that. Last night, during his thoughts, he'd come to a conclusion: once you had been pulled into the events that surrounded the Dark Hour you could never turn a blind eye, a small piece of innocence was forever lost. This sort of curse may be fine when you wanted something interesting to happen, but what about the times when all you wanted was a few moments of peace?

"Sometimes it's the most subtle things that are the most dangerous," the teen warned as he started towards the school block.

"Eh? Well whatever, Dude." He hadn't really expected Junpei to understand if he was honest. The black-haired teen still had some growing up to do.

As they headed towards their homeroom, Minato realised that in some ways he was jealous of that.

--

_Monday, 11th of May 2009. 07:42_

Of all the things to start a Monday morning, why did it have to be Classic Lit?

"I'm sure you all remember that midterm exams start next Monday," Ekoda-sensei reminded the class. "If you paid attention during class and studied diligently at home, you should have no problems..."

The blue-haired teen noticed that the teacher stopped talking as his eyes scanned over the place next to him. He wasn't surprised to see that Junpei had fallen asleep to his side, threw a quick and discrete look to his right to see that Ryoji had also fallen to sleep. However, unlike the black-haired teenager, the heir was using skills born from hours of experience. He never knew how the idiot was able to sleep with his eyes open, while only supported by a lone arm that was tucked under his chin and propped against the desk.

"Of course, the best way to prepare for a difficult exam is to sleep through class, like Junpei here," the teacher stated as he gestured towards the obviously sleeping teen. "Hmph... If you choose to neglect your duty as a student and waste your life in idleness, then be my guest..."

Minato held back a sigh as the class let out nervous laughter. After all, almost no one paid any attention to what the man said since he was almost as boring as reading the pieces of classic literature themselves.

"In my day, society was nowhere near as rich and abundant as it is today...!" Oh 'whatever is out there'. "That's why we worked so long and hard; to better our lives. Can you young people say the same?"

Minato was always annoyed by comments like this. Society changes; it was a fact of life. The current generation of adults always went on about how the young people had it easy and were lazy idiots who would never achieve anything. Even when they current generation of school children did well, getting the highest percentage of pass rates for exams for example, it was chalked up to the exams getting easier, not the students getting brighter.

In the teen's eyes it was proof that everyone was becoming more cynical, and that was a bad thing. Cynics were negative people who believed in no one, and that negativity could only lead to a downwards spiral. Minato had always classed himself as a sceptic; he wanted to believe in everyone, but as things were the way they were, he had to look at things objectively, in order to protect himself and those around him from people who didn't think along the same lines.

He wasn't too sure that was the correct definition of a sceptic, but that was the one he'd chosen to follow and he'd stick to it.

The teacher was nowhere near done with his rant though. "Hmm? Our society's material wealth has come at the cost of its spiritual wealth..." No. Simply put, the spiritual wealth had changed as was the way of life. Just because you don't like how it's turned out isn't a reason to say that everyone was spiritually bankrupt. "In 'Ise Monogatari', on the contrary..."

At least some of the people that the teacher was berating refrained from trying to force their morals on others.

--

_Monday, 11th of May 2009. 17:18_

He'd left school early, partly because he had to go and see Elizabeth about whatever this new service was. Secondly, all the clubs had been cancelled and everyone was running around like headless chickens as the pre-exam panic started to settle in. He never understood why such commotion surrounded these events; didn't panic only make the situation worse?

Ah well, at least he was out of the chaos, all he had to do before he could return to his casual revising was to check to see if there was any other material that could be useful and as such he planned to head for Bookworms.

But first he had to make a quick diversion.

He moved through Paulownia Mall, considering popping into Chagall Cafe before deciding that getting drawn into their addictive coffee mix wouldn't help him manage his time. Moving past the Police Station he entered the alleyway below Mandragora and headed to the velvet door that only he could see. As his hands wrapped around the handle he could feel the velvet-coloured key in his pocket vibrate before he turned the handle and was pulled into the dimension that existed between reality and dreams.

He had returned to the Velvet Room.

"Welcome," Elizabeth greeted the blue-haired teen as he moved up to the seat that was always left for him.

"Good evening, my dear young man," the long nosed master of the Velvet Room greeted from his seat.

"Good evening Elizabeth-san, Igor-san." He gave both of the residents a small bow as he took his seat. "You called me?"

"Indeed," the old man stated as Elizabeth poured him a cup of earl grey. "I wanted to congratulate you on your success on the last full moon. Seeing as you have proven that you have

the tenacity to survive the task given to you by our contract, we've decided to offer you another service to you."

"Another service?" the teen asked looking over the two residents of the room; he had to wonder if holding things back like this invalidated the contract, although he was sure that the old fart had something in the fine print to protect himself. "Any particular reason this wasn't offered earlier?"

"There is wisdom in not placing your eggs in a single basket... Not unless you test the basket's durability first." Minato wasn't sure if he should take that as an insult at being compared to a basket or a compliment because he had been rated as durable enough to maybe live through this.

In the end there was only one way he could reply. "Right."

"In any case, Elizabeth will fill you in with the details," Igor stated as he stood up. "There are things I must handle. Until next time, farewell." With that the old man tapped his cane on the ground and with a flash of blinding light he was gone."

The teen held back a sigh. "That's a pain," he admitted as he leaned back in his chair. "I was hoping to do some fusion."

"I must apologise for my master," the elevator attendant said as she bowed her head. "I'm afraid that his schedule has become rather full with the events that have taken place."

Well the teen couldn't blame the old man for being busy, but something seemed off. "It's no problem Elizabeth-san." Best to get the matter at hand dealt with. "What do you have for me?"

"My master has asked me to inform you about the Persona Compendium," she stated as she placed the book she held under her arm on the table. "You may register any of your Personas in this book, and, for a fee, you can withdraw them at any time."

"So it's like a vault," the teen speculated.

"Not precisely," the attendant corrected. "A Persona is a manifestation of the soul; in the case of those of the Fool Arcana, like yourself, they have many facets in which their soul shows itself. Think of this as a record of the many different faces of your soul."

"But I have to pay to call on one of these facets."

"Everything has a price," the white-haired elevator attendant pointed out. "You must make the choice as to if the given Persona is worth the cost."

He had to wonder what the price Igor had stipulated was when he had given this contract. The only downside he could think of was that he no longer turn a blind eye to what was going on. He hadn't had much innocence left after the events of ten years ago, so all the contract had done was make the path clearer.

One way or another he had to make a choice. "Alright, let's have a look."

By the time Minato left the Velvet Room, he had considered many options for Persona fusion in the future. He also knew where Elizabeth got all the money from in order to fund her fountain filling adventures.

He was sure that if his wallet was sentient then it would be sobbing just at that thought.

--

_Monday, 11th of May 2009. 17:47_

"Minato-chan!" Bunkichi greeted the teen as he moved through the door.

"Evening," the teen returned the greeting as he moved over to browse at the stacks.

"Too bad you didn't come earlier," the old man stated as he watched the teen remove a few books that had caught his interest. "My wife left for Gekkoukan a while ago."

The teen nodded in reply. He probably just missed her coming on or off of the monorail then. "I'll just have a look around then."

"Well, she won't be gone long," the old man said before putting forward a suggestion. "Why don't you keep me company, Minato-chan?"

The teen couldn't think of any reason not to since he came here to pick up some extra revision material, and he had no doubt that he was more than ready for the tests. "Sure."

"Are you thirsty?" The teen turned to see the older man pull out a couple of cans from behind the counter. "Here, you can have some of this."

Realising that he was parched and had forgotten to carry any sort of drink around with him. "Thank you." Minato let out a small smile as he moved over to the counter.

The old man stopped, looking around the area behind the counter before he muttered. "...Wait, where are the cups?" Realising that he'd said the comment a bit too loudly; he turned to the blue-haired teen and let out a nervous chuckle before he gave his admission. "I'm afraid I'm completely useless without my wife.

Well Minato could understand how such a thing could happen in many relationships; he just hoped that he wouldn't be like that if he ever got involved with someone in the future. Granted that was a big if, even if the Shadows hadn't involved themselves in his life he wasn't sure that he'd get involved with someone in that way. He was far too damaged in many aspects to open himself in that way unless they could draw him out of his defences or they were very special.

So far he'd only met one person who filled one of those requirements, and he was the first to admit that he had little to no chance.

"That's alright," the teen opened up an avenue of escape for the old man. "I'm not that thirsty at the moment."

Before the old man could reply, the front door opened, admitting Mitsuko into the shop. The shaking and scared look in her eyes told the teen everything he needed to know.

Something was very wrong.

"Are you alright?" The teen asked as he moved over to the old lady.

"Th-th-the tree," the old lady stuttered as she nearly lost her footing. It was only the quick response from the youngest person in the store that stopped the upset lady from falling to the ground.

When the teen looked at the older man, a sort of telepathy passing between them as the old man nudged his head towards a chair on the other side of the counter. Once the teen was sure that the old lady was safely in the chair he asked the question that was on his mind. "What happened?"

He waited a few moments as the older lady tried to regain her composure without much success before Bunkichi spoke up.

"See, you have Minato-chan worried too," the older man stated as he finally found the cups. "You oughta know better than to walk that far at your age."

The teen had a fair idea that wasn't why Mitsuko was in this state, but when he saw the look of worry on the older man's face he realised, this must be his way of helping his wife to calm down. He wasn't sure about how effective it could be but then again he hadn't been involved in that sort of relationship for that length of time.

"Here drink this," he stated as he poured some of one of the cans into a cup and handed it to his partner; he moved back to the counter and took the other can and a cup, which he passed over to their customer. "And here's one for you, Minato-chan."

The teen took offered beverage, recognising it as Cylon Tea before he leant up against the counter and poured some of the iced-tea drink into the offered cup.

Once the old lady had calmed down enough, Bunkichi started to explain. "The Persimmon Tree by the walkway in your school..." he started. "My wife heard a rumour that it was going to be cut down, and she almost fainted." Well that explained why she was in such a state. He knew from experience how fond the couple was of that tree. He just wished he knew why. "Do you know anything about it, Minato-chan?"

He wished that he's spent more time in the Student Council now.

"Not that I know of," the teen responded. "I would have told you if I'd heard anything."

"You're too kind Minato-chan," the old man chuckled before his expression returned to match the mood that filled the room. "I'm as worried as Mitsuko. I tried to look into the rumour, but... I think I was 'barking up the wrong tree'..."

Oh Hell, the spirit of the Chairman had invaded the store.

There was silence for a few seconds as the bad pun hung in the air like the smell of a dead... something.

Fortunately, the teen was saved from having to comment as the older woman drew his attention. "Minato-chan, if it's not too much trouble, can you tell us if you hear anything about the persimmon tree?"

It wasn't a difficult request, an easy one to be honest. "I'll ask around," he promised. "Anything I find out I'll tell you as soon as possible."

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hierophant Arcana..._

"Thank you, Minato-chan." The old woman gave the teen a smile, obviously feeling better now that he'd agreed to look into the matter.

Minato liked a good mystery; it was something he'd picked up from his father. He knew that the Persimmon Tree was important to the old couple, but he still didn't know why.

Hopefully that would be something he'd find out soon.

--

_Monday, 11th of May 2009. DH:07_

The old man stood in a position on the Iwatodai monorail track, about three hundred and fifty meters outside Port Island Station, trying to get a feel on the powerful presence that had been there not more than two days ago. He tapped his cane to the ground as he finally gave up. There was nothing left.

This would have been what he was expecting, if things had gone the way fate had directed. The Arcana Shadow would have been destroyed and then joined the piece already held within the seal. To check on this he had brought the seal to him earlier, under the guise of offering a new service, and he'd been suspicious the moment he had entered his presence.

The fragment of death had not become stronger as he'd expected. It seemed to become more constrained as the seal became more powerful.

At first he thought that the seal was too powerful for the fragments to bypass and join together, which could be the case if all the fragments weren't able to merge. However, now that he had been to the scene of the second battle, he could tell something was wrong. The fragment wasn't drifting around aimlessly trying to detect another piece of itself. It was gone.

There was another player at the table.

Well things weren't too bad at least. There were still ten more to go, and one of those may have more success at breaking through the seal and joining with the piece behind it. If not, well... There were other actions that could be taken to bring things back on track.

It was a shame that fate had chosen this path for the young man who had been given access to the Velvet Room, but as a representative of fate he had seen and dealt worse hands than the one that had been currently given. No one could leave the path fate chose for them, for to do so would cause chaos, and chance was an unknown that could place existence in danger. As such, if anyone attempted to leave the path fate chose then he would have no other option but to force the issue.

Sadly, no one could escape fate.

--

_Monday, 11th of May 2009. DH:42_

The heir sat in his study, a cold beverage to his side and his 'revision' material spread out in front of him. He didn't know why he attempted to do things this way. Systematic study with casual revision before an exam was Nii-san's way of doing things. He just found it... well, boring to be honest. However, he may as well make an effort. If nothing else than to keep the remaining spies that the board had sent to his manor in Iwatodai off the track.

He'd planned to make a visit to see Metis again tonight, but even after a day since he'd watched his brother torture himself with a task he thought he had to do, he wasn't in the best of frame of mind and he didn't want to expose Metis to that. So here he was, within his office with a pile of 'revision' in front of him that he had no desire to even touch.

Things were going well so far, with two down and ten to go and Nii-san becoming stronger at a rate he hadn't expected. Everything seemed on course. So that's when someone threw a spanner into the works.

"Good evening, Thanatos."

The teen looked into the shadows as the white-haired child emerged from the depths. "It's been a while, squirt."

Pharos grimaced, much to the heir's delight; he still couldn't believe just how easily he could get under the child's skin. "Maybe not long enough."

"Aw, don't be like that." The heir let out a mock pout. "I got you chocolate."

Pharos' exposed right eye lit up before he realised that even if it was true, his phantom like body could not eat it. "You're a bastard."

The heir held back a laugh, this was so much fun. "Such language from a child." He shook his head sadly to add to the effect. "Nii-san would be so sad to hear the enigmatic Pharos speak like this."

However his fun was ended by four simple words.

"He's on to us," the white-haired child told the bringer of death, a smirk appearing as the white-haired child watched the look of horror on the heir's face before the seriousness of the situation called for the child to push the small victory to the side. After all, Ryoji didn't need to be told who 'he' was.

"How much does he know?" the teen asked as he stood up and started facing.

"He called in our Cipher to 'offer a new service,'" the child started to brief the heir. "He knows that the fragments can't get past the seal and they are disappearing. He doesn't know how it's happening or who is involved, but he knows that there is another factor in the equation." The child took a breath before he gave his recommendation, "We may have to leave the sealing until after the full moon."

"No." The teen struck the idea down flat. "It's too dangerous for Nii-san if we leave them free for too long."

"But if he starts to monitor events on the full moon, he'll discover that you're behind the meddling," the child argued back. "If that happens everything we've worked towards, everything you, Elizabeth-neesan and I have accomplished so far is for nothing."

"He can't risk monitoring the full moons," the heir explained. "If Nii-san catches him meddling, then all the rules are void and Nii-san will be told the truth about everything."

That was the trump card that they were relying on; as long as the representative of fate was tied to the rules, they had the freedom they needed to get things done.

"The contract will bind him as well," the child realised. "He hasn't realised that it was changed before he signed it."

"In the end all we can do is believe on Nii-san and do our part," the heir admitted. With that topic at a standstill the teen noticed his white-haired companion start to get a bit fidgety. "Something else bothering you, squirt?"

The child looked away before he turned to look at the teen again. "I'm going to ask him tomorrow."

"Ah." Ryoji replied, sounding completely nonplussed by the topic at hand. "It that it?"

"What do you mean: 'Is that it!'?" Pharos looked incensed before his shoulders slumped and his expression filled with worry. "What if he says no?"

"That won't happen." The heir replied as if it was fact.

"How can you be sure?" Pharos asked his face alight with confusion.

Mochizuki Ryoji, the mortal who used to be Thanatos, herald of Nyx gave a simple answer.

"Because if he can accept someone like me, you'll have no problems."

**End of Chapter 11**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Obligatory changes to fix typos and clean up areas that were a bit rough around the edges.

1.02 – After speaking with Vocarin, it was apparent something was missing from the graveyard scene, this changes things a bit in order to try and correct that.

1.03 – Completed with editing from Vocarin

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Hum interesting responses to chapter 11, as such I think a Q&A is in order. As usual see after the change log.

On other notes, sorry this chapter is late. As I stated in my profile, my desktop went in for a service and came back with a fault list as long as my arm, I tried typing on the macbook pro but the keyboard isn't really comfortable for long period typing. Anyhow as usual your feedback is welcome, please leave a review (constructive feedback is welcome, flames are not). Enjoy.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 12  
**

_Tuesday, 12th of May 2009. 07.42_

"Minato-kun!"

Minato turned to see Yukari waving him over, and although he was worried that this could start up the bloody rumours again, he couldn't let such things control his life. "Morning."

"Mornin'," the brunette replied as the blue-haired junior reached her side. "You hear the news...?"

The teen shook his head in response. He usually didn't listen or read the news first thing in the morning, since he didn't want to be faced with that much bad news so early in the day. He preferred to do so once he was more lucid, when he could appreciate that it was all the bad news that the papers could find for that day.

"There've been fewer new cases of Apathy Syndrome the last few days," she explained. "Sempai said it's probably because we beat that Shadow. Wouldn't that be great if it was true?"

Yes, it would be. It would be evidence that the Shadows outside of Tartarus were being controlled by the… what did Pharos call it again? ...ah! An Arcana Shadow. Well it was evidence that these Arcana Shadows were controlling the smaller ones and without their presence the lesser ones had lessened their attacks. "We can only hope that this proves that our work is paying off," the teen admitted.

"I hope so. It was dangerous, but I'm glad we did it," the brunette stated before she turned to more worrying matters. "We shouldn't get carried away, though, cuz we have midterms next week. Let's just hope nothing like that happens again until midterms are over."

"We'll see," the junior replied noncommittally.

Knowing his luck that was not going to happen.

_--_

_Tuesday, 12th of May 2009. 17:04_

Minato felt bad. He'd promised himself that he'd at least try to make more friends in Iwatodai. After all, this was now home. Even so he didn't know the name of the student in front of him, even after a month.

"Hey Arisato-san, exams are coming up... I'm so excited," the student with glasses greeted as he noticed the blue-haired teen standing behind him.

Okay... Minato didn't see it that way. Exams were exams, a stepping stone through life as a student

"Er... That's inter..." the teen started, trying to find a way past the student as soon as possible. He was planning to head down to city hall to see if he could find some info about the power supply to the school. Once that was done he'd check out the shrine near the dorm. It was bound to be more peaceful than the madhouse that school had become.

"Why? Because it gives me a chance to flaunt my knowledge," the student carried on, completely ignoring the other teen. "This time, I'm gonna get the highest score in the entire eleventh grade, and impress Mitsuru-sempai..." He paused, realising what he said before he asked the question that suddenly came to mind. "Um, sorry what did you need?"

The teen held back a sigh; maybe going through the other door would have been a better idea. "I was going to ask you to move so I can get through the doorway."

"Ah... Yes, sorry I didn't realize," the teen stated as he moved aside. "Um... please disregard that last comment.

This kid thought that he could impress Mitsuru with good grades, without even trying to talk to her? What was he going to do? Walk up to the heiress and say: 'Hi, I got the highest score in eleventh grade. Want to go out with me?'

Minato was almost willing to make sure he didn't get the highest score to see the carnage that would be the result.

Well, this was proof at least that you wouldn't be able to make friends with _everyone_.

--

_Tuesday, 12th of May 2009. 17:42_

It was like a trip down memory lane.

During their last trip through Tartarus they had found an old document, something that read like an excerpt out of someone's diary. It mentioned that there seemed to be a lot of electricity being directed to the Gekkoukan site, even though it was just a school. That fact was something worth investigating. Even Elizabeth had implied that the answer to the mystery behind the Dark Hour rested within these documents. There were also Yukari's suspicions about the Kirijo Group's involvement and her belief that there was something else was going on. That something could be hinted at within these logs and maybe it could also lead to an answer to a more personal question. Why had Otou-san and Okaa-san investigated the Kirijo Group all those years ago?

At least this was a welcome distraction to wondering what Ryoji had meant when he'd used the term Cipher.

As such the blue-haired teen found himself walking into the archive within the city hall for the first time in over ten years. This place used to be one of Otou-san's old haunts and since Okaa-san usually worked in more hazardous areas in her line of work the blue-haired teen often found

himself accompanying his father to this vault of knowledge in the past. During these times he'd drift away from where his father set himself up to do his research for his current case, not too far in case he was called on, but far enough into the cases so he could look at the names on the files. He wasn't allowed to touch or open any of them; however he was able to read the titles or descriptions of what was held there. It was amazing what the mind of a five year old could come up with when they were supplied with a few sentences and let loose the power of imagination.

He missed those days when everything seemed simpler. Nowadays his imagination was kept on a tight leash; he wasn't the same person as the child who used to come here with his father all those years ago. Sadly the Dark Hour had claimed that innocence from him years ago.

He looked over the room noticing that not much had changed over the years. By the looks of it they had reorganised the sections and had a small shuffle round, but that was it. As such he instinctively moved towards the counter where the person left in charge was most likely sitting idly being bored out of their mind.

He was right on the money.

The middle aged woman on the counter was leaning back in her chair, the radio playing chart classics while she was preoccupied with a half completed Sudoku puzzle from today's paper. He waited for a moment, hoping that the woman would realise his presence before he'd have to interrupt her. After five minutes of waiting he realised that he'd get nowhere standing around like this and gave in.

"Excuse me?" the teen announced his presence, causing the older lady to jump from her seat and look at the teen with a look of surprise. That was expected; after all how many teenagers came into the city hall archive?

"Oh!" She finally got out. "How can I help you?"

"I'd like to have a look at an article requesting planning permission," the teen requested.

It was the best place to start. If things were done by the book then they would have to put a reason for the amount of power going to the school in the planning permission documents. Did he expect that...? Not really, but at the very least the plans would give him a rough layout of where the power went and with blueprints and some digging he may be able to find out something he could bring back to Junpei and Yukari.

... Alright, just Yukari. After all, Junpei probably would be more interested in watching _MS_ _Gundam Horizons_ or _Slayers Reincarnation_.

"Planning permission documents?" the lady asked the teen for confirmation, receiving a nod she moved from behind the desk and pointed towards a section in the back. "Those are over there, what year?"

"Nineteen ninety seven," the teen stated. "The new Gekkoukan High School building on Port Island."

"Ah," she stated. "Are you working on a school project?"

"Sort of," the teen smirked; after all he was doing this as a result of his involvement in a school club.

"Well let's see what we can find for you." The old lady gestured for the teen to follow her before she led him towards the large set of drawers near the back of the archive. She stopped, looking over the drawers before she opened the one labelled nineteen ninety seven and started to sift through.

It was odd; when he had been here in the past with Otou-san, the assistant hadn't helped this much. Thinking it over, he could hazard a guess that this behaviour was linked to one of two reasons: First off she was so used to not doing anything, so she relished the chance to prove she could do her job, or because he was a young man she wanted to make sure he didn't mess up the archive and create extra work for her.

Either way, he wasn't complaining.

"Here we go," she stated as she pulled out a small file and a cardboard tube. "The planning permission request documents and a blueprint to go with."

"Thank you," the teen thanked the assistant as he moved over to one of the tables so he could have a quick check through.

After a few minutes of looking through the blueprints, the teen realised that the person who wrote the document they had found wasn't kidding; the power being directed to the school was insane. They had even had to pay for a separate sub-station in order to regulate the power to meet their demands, however that wasn't the thing was screamed out that something was off. The fact that the school also received power from the standard grid set off alarm bells within the student's head.

He looked through the documents accompanying the blueprints to see what reason they had for the amount of power. After all, no local government in their right mind would allow a school, no matter who funded the project, to draw that amount of power from the grid without good reason.

_Power requirements granted for reasons discussed in meeting dated 17th July 1999. See minutes under reference 170799-18X24B._

The teen placed down the document, browsing through the sections until he found what he was looking for. After a few moments of browsing through files something because obviously apparent.

None of these files used the same reference style as the reference given in the planning permission document.

Oh well, he hadn't expected to be that lucky to be honest. The Kirijo Group had, after all, funded the complete redevelopment of Port Island; as such the local government was bound to turn a blind eye especially when incentives were probably being offered. Sadly that was something you had to expect, companies didn't get where they were without this sort of thing going on. When people are willing to work that hard to keep their firm on top then you had to expect them to bend their morals a bit.

Did he agree? No. But he understood the reasons, even if he didn't agree with them. In order to stop this from happening, someone would be required to appear in the conglomerate world, who could compete without using such tactics. Granted, finding such a person would be next to impossible, especially since all the other companies would be watching like a hawk for an iota of hypocrisy and if they found such a thing they would destroy this newcomer in moments.

Anyway, there was enough here to be working on, all he needed to do was get some photocopies and spend some time going over things in the confides of his room where he could relax and see if there was anything he had missed. Moving up to the assistant he waited for her to, once again, put her Sudoku to the side. "What do you need?"

"I was just wondering if I can have some things photocopied," he stated as he gestured with the documents he had in hand.

The assistant responded by pointing towards a photocopier in an area to the side of the counter, noticing the device attached to the machine that seemed to take coins. As he got closer he found himself to be straight on the money as he noticed the sign above the machine.

_20 Yen per copy_

The teen could only sigh.

--

_Tuesday, 12th of May 2009. 18:26_

After much consideration, Minato decided that it would be wise if he looked over the copies he'd taken from the archives somewhere other than the dorm. After all, if Mitsuru or Akihiko saw him looking it over, it would draw more questions than he wanted to answer. Yukari would be all over this like a rash, so he wouldn't be able to give this the amount of concentration that it required, and finally Junpei couldn't be trusted to keep his mouth shut. But to be honest there was one person that he wanted to avoid more than the others.

The Chairman.

Maybe he was still bitter that the man still hadn't told him about the hidden camera in his room, but there was something about Ikutsuki Shuji that worried him. Frankly, he didn't have any real reason for this feeling; however, there was something off about the 'club advisor.' From what he had discovered, the Chairman had been a scientist working for the Kirijo Group for a long time before he had joined the board at Gekkoukan, quickly moving to the position of Chairman just in time to coincide with Kirijo Mitsuru beginning her education there. There was something… off about all of this. Maybe it was something about how he seemed to have tethered himself down to Gekkoukan, the same place that turned into Tartarus at night, or maybe it was the fact that the only thing he could tie the scientist to researching was the Shadows.

There was also the information Yukari had told him when he'd been in the hospital. Her father was working for the Kirijo Group on a project here in Iwatodai, and she'd implied that things had gone badly and the resulting explosion had killed her father and a few others. It would be worth a try to go to the main library at some point in order to see if he could tie what Yukari had told him to an event in the papers. While it was obvious from that discussion, and the one at the barrier in Tartarus, that the brunette was convinced that the Kirijo Group had something to do with this, there was no doubt.

Whatever was going on, it pointed towards one fact; there was something off about Ikutsuki Shuji and he was sure that the scientist knew more about what was going on than he was willing to admit to anyone.

Now he just had to try and find a way to prove it.

Which was why he had just entered the Naganaki Shine. His bag full of photocopied sheets that had the information from the planning permission documents that he was interested in, a couple of cans of Mad Bull and a container filled with Takoyaki from Octopia. He had to admit that it was an odd name for the place where the Takoyaki didn't actually include octopus, but he'd been told by manu people that the Takoyaki was top notch, so he was willing to give it a try.

Taking a quick look around he instantly noticed that the shrine was pretty much as he'd expected. The Koi Pond, the donation box in front of the shrine itself, a small area off to the side where you could purchase fortunes and a small children's playground.

Where a young child was playing by herself.

Although the look on the child suggested that she was lonely, lost, or abandoned, the teen didn't feel comfortable in approaching to see what was wrong. Minato was many things; this included the fact that he was male and if someone saw a lone man go up and start to talk to a small child, they would instinctively think the worst of the situation, and he could end up being accused of being an abductor or something far worse. He took a quick look around to see if there were any women in the shine whom he could ask to check for him, or who would at least go with him. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

Oh well, the best thing he could do was to take a seat down on the benches and carry on with what he had meant to do. At least that way he could still keep an eye of the girl and make sure nothing untoward happened while he was there.

Well it was best to get back to the matter at hand. He'd had to give Yukari some credit, this did point to the Kirijo Group having more to do with the incident than they were letting on, and there were only a few things that required that amount of power but could go unnoticed within the school. The main thought that came to mind was that it was research of some sort, what exactly he couldn't tell b...

He could feel a presence watching him. He started channel his Persona, allowing its power to enhance his physical ability before he realised that it wasn't anything that could be a threat and in fact the small girl who was in the playground was staring at him from a few feet away. Taking a few seconds to beat back the feeling of unease, he finally decided that, while it wasn't something he wanted to do, he'd have to address the small girl in front of him.

"Err..." He paused, realising that he had no idea what to say. "Hello."

"Hi," was the child's slightly stuttered response.

There was silence for a few seconds, partly because of the teen's desire to not get involved with this, and partly because the girl was nervous about speaking to someone that she didn't know.

After a few more awkward moments, the young girl, who if he had to guess an age was probably around six, maybe seven, years old, he'd never been good a guessing ages, finally addressed him. "Are you a bad man?"

Right... How the hell did you answer that?

Well he wasn't a saint; however he tried to do the right thing, no matter how much it mucked his life up at the moment. "Well I wasn't a bad person the last time I checked," he settled on.

She contemplated this for a moment, before deciding that the response was valid enough in her eyes. If he'd had to guess he'd suspect that she'd listened to the tone of the response more than the actual words. "I'm sorry, but I'm thirsty."

Eh?

It was then he noticed what the girl had been staring at; one of his cans of Mad Bull.

Oh Hell's teeth. Was this what this had all been about?

He spent a few moments looking at the girl, who had started to sport a face he could only describe as the 'Helpless, pathetic little puppy eyes face'. He paused to take a look around, hoping that her parents were close, but it was to no avail. It looked like she'd been dropped at this place and left to her own devices until her parents could pick her up. He had to wonder how

long she'd been here before he'd turned up. Of course, there was no way of knowing for sure, however that made it apparent as to the reason why she would say such a thing to a complete stranger.

She had no other option.

He gave in, passing the can over to the girl, who lit up as if someone had just given her a pony for Christmas... Okay that was drawing too much on the common stereotypes, but you got the point. He watched as she took a seat on the bench next to the teen and opened the can, taking a drink before smiling at the blue-haired stranger in gratitude.

Minato merely returned his attention back to the sheet he'd been scanning, his thoughts once again being drawn into the mystery of what exactly was going on at Gekkoukan High before the Dark Hour had come into existence and what did that have to do with the tower's creation?

"Erm..."

Maybe the dorm was a better idea after all.

He turned back to the girl noticing that she now had her eyes on the polystyrene container that held his non-octopus Takoyaki. He let out a sigh as he reached into the bag that the lady at the stall had given him and removed one of the few cocktail sticks that had been placed inside. For some reason that he couldn't find a reasonable explanation for, the people at these sort of stands always gave you too many utensils and napkins, at least this time the extras were going to be put to some sort of use.

He opened the container, putting the stick into one of the pieces of Takoyaki before he offered it to the kid sitting at his side. "Just don't finish it all," he warned. "I haven't tried it yet."

"You haven't?" the child asked, all sense of shyness having evaporated. "Octopia's Takoyaki is the best in town!"

He nodded his reply to that statement before he returned to his research, a few moments of peace passing before a female voice pierced straight through it.

"Maiko!"

"Okaa-san!" The child looked towards the woman who had called her name with the same expression as someone who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "Sorry, I've got to go," the girl stated to the blue-haired teen as she left the rest of the Takoyaki and stood up from the bench. "Thank you for the Takoyaki!"

The teen paid attention as the girl got back to her mother, not surprised in the slightest when her mother gave her a mouthful as she ranted about how the little girl wasn't supposed to speak to strangers, before the older woman calmed down enough to usher the child out of the shrine. Once he was sure that they were gone he turned back to the sheets in a final attempt at trying to find

something of note. Sadly he knew already that it would be a futile effort as his eyes kept being pulled back to the opened container of Takoyaki that sat by his side.

The best in town, eh?

He pulled another stick out of the bag and helped himself to a piece, giving it a once over before he popped in into his mouth and started to chew. It wasn't octopus alright, to be honest he wasn't sure what the main ingredient was, however even though he had no idea what the secret ingredient could be he knew one thing; it wasn't half bad.

Minato helped himself to another portion of the food in front of him, being taken in by the new mystery that had just come to the fore: What the hell did Octopia use in this stuff?

He'd be here for a while.

--

_Tuesday, 12th of May 2009. DH:14_

"Good evening."

The teen opened his eyes, recognising that voice immediately, even though he'd had only heard it on four different occasions. Taking a moment to rub the sleep out of his eyes, the teen took a moment to gain his senses before he looked towards the white-haired child that was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Pharos," the teen greeted as he rose to a sitting position on his bed.

"You remembered," the child smiled as he looked at the teen from his place, sitting on the end of the teen's bed. "I promised that I would see you again after your ordeal was over."

Indeed he had, although Minato was surprised that it was this soon. He gave the white-haired child a nod of acknowledgement before the child continued.

Pharos stood up walking a little before he turned back towards Minato. "Even though I knew you would succeed, it is good to see that you are unharmed." Well, that was reassuring. "The Arcana Shadows are not to be taken lightly."

Although it was an obvious question, the teen had to ask. "What are they?"

"Even Shadows have a hierarchy," the child started to explain. "All shadows are linked to the first twelve facets of the Arcana, and the Arcana Shadows are the embodiments of these facets. As a result the lesser Shadows treat these beings with reverence."

"So these larger Shadows organised the raids from the tower in order to hunt their prey?" Minato asked. That would explain the rise and fall in cases of Apathy Syndrome around the last full moon.

"Not exactly," the child corrected. "The Arcana Shadows are not allowed inside Tartarus."

That opened a whole new kettle of fish. "Why?"

"Because their nature keeps them away," the child stated. "Shadows are intelligent, but they are more like animals than humans. The Arcana Shadows are in some ways an exception, even so, they are driven by instinct as much as the others."

That made matters more confusing. "Hold on," the teen started. "So these Shadows are bound by instinct to stay away from Tartarus, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then I don't understand." He looked at the child. "Why do they remain in Iwatodai?"

It didn't make sense; if the Shadows behaved like predators that were bound from going inside the tower then why did they stay here? Granted their prey was congregated around here, but even so they would have to compete with each other. If they spread out more than they would all be able to have an ample supply of prey and would have territories away from each other. He guessed that it could be something to do with them having a more territorial nature, but there would be evidence of that as well. He needed to get access to whatever information the Kirijo Group held on the Shadows.

What was so special about Iwatodai?

"That has to do with instinct as well," Pharos stated. "They are all drawn here."

Well that left one very simple question "Why?"

The child leveled him with a small apologetic smile. "I can't tell you."

Oh 'whatever is out there'; this was beginning to sound like a broken record.

"I'm sorry," the child responded to the teens look. "Anyway, there is something we need to talk about."

Minato nodded in reply; taking note that Pharos had turned away from him his deposition becoming more bashful.

"After you awakened your power, we talked about how you think of Thanatos as a member of your family," the white-haired child started.

Thanatos? Ah yes that was what the kid called Ryoji. "That's right."

"Well there is something I wish to talk to you about." The white-haired child still didn't face the blue-haired teen. There was silence for what had to be at least a full minute as Pharos seemed to gather his nerves before he finally made a decision. "You will have a few issues with Tartarus as you get higher. Don't lose heart; these problems will be resolved with time."

"Right," the teen replied.

"If you sense Death within the tower, get out of there," the child warned. "If you are cornered; call on _his_ aid, don't hesitate."

That didn't sound good. "Death?"

"You will realise who I am talking about on your own," the child said before he started to back into the shadows. "I will let you sleep. We will see each other again."

"Until then," the teen bid farewell, however there was something off... Well maybe that wasn't the best way to phrase it, but he was missing something, something bleeding obvious.

"Goodbye."

Why did he have the feeling that the white-haired child had avoided the real reason why he had come to see him?

--

_Wednesday, 13th of May 2009. 07.42_

As Minato approached the front gates of the school, he found himself pausing for a second as he looked at the main building. Sometimes it still amazed him that this place turned into Tartarus, the tower that appeared during the Dark Hour.

"Arisato." Minato turned from the building to look at the redhead who had stopped at his side.

"Morning, Mitsuru-sempai," he returned the greeting. Taking note that he'd stopped in the middle of the gateway, he moved over to the side in order to make sure that he wasn't being an obstruction to the flow of nervous students.

"Exams are next week." She stated. "Are you prepared?"

Not to his usual standard. As to be expected since his life had become much more complicated since he had returned to Iwatodai. However since he usually over studied for these things, maybe this was a good thing. "I'll be fine."

"As expected," she muttered as looked towards the building. "Well I'll be interested in seeing your grades."

Alright then... No pressure.

As they started to walk towards the school he realised that this was an opportunity to try and dig out some of the information he's been looking for. "Mitsuru-sempai?"

"Hum?" the redhead responded, looking at the junior.

"Well, there is a tree in the outside corridor, just before the gym," he started to explain; after all it was best to start with the easier to get pieces of info, then work his way up. "There are rumours that it's going to get chopped down."

"The Persimmon Tree?" she asked for confirmation, surprising the blue-haired teen with the fact that she knew the name, although to be honest he knew he shouldn't be. After all this was the heiress of the Kirijo Group and the Student Council President, it should be no surprise that she knew the ins and outs of this place.

"I think so," Minato gave her the needed confirmation.

"It's just a rumour, as far as I know," she stated before asking a question he'd expected earlier. "Why?"

Deciding that telling the truth would be the best policy, he started to explain. "The couple who owns the second hand bookstore in the stripmall was asking." He looked towards the school. "They asked me to see if there was anything I could find out."

"Ah," was her only response for a few moments. "You're timing couldn't be worse. With the Student Council closed due to the exams, I have fewer resources to call on." She let out a sigh before she stopped by the entryway. "I'll ask around. If I hear anything I'll send you a text."

A small smile appeared on his face. "Thanks." With that he checked the school clock realising that he was going to be late for class. "See you later."

As he rushed off he never considered how the redhead had got hold of the number of his cell phone.

--

_Wednesday, 13th of May 2009. 17.42_

He hadn't received anything from Mitsuru by the time that he'd arrived outside Bookworms. Even so he decided that he could at least tell the couple that as far as he knew the rumours were just that, rumours.

"Oh, Minato-chan," Bunkichi greeted the teen as he came through the door. "We were just talking about you."

He'd expected that much; after all, this tree seemed to be important to the couple. It was only natural that they'd be interested in finding out what their best source of information had found out.

"I'm sorry for troubling you about the persimmon tree..."

"Don't worry," the teen assured the older man. "From what I've found out so far," bugger all, "this seems to be just a rumour."

That didn't seem to make the couple feel any better.

Minato held in a sigh before he continued to try and reassure that couple that their tree would be alright. "I'll keep asking around, I'm sure that I'll be able to root out the truth."

The teen was confused for a second as the old man burst out laughing; it wasn't until he calmed down slightly that he got a clue as to what he's just inadvertently done. "Good one, Minato-chan!" He was still confused, what was so funny?

_Root out the truth._

Oh Hell's teeth.

"It's really nice having you around..." Bunkichi stated with a sigh as his laughter started to subside. "I can make stupid puns whenever I feel like it!"

Oh crap, the Chairman was contagious.

The older man became more somber as the topic turned back to the tree at hand. "That Persimmon Tree is a reminder of our son," he explained, answering a question that Minato had wondered about since he'd heard of the tree. "Before his death, he was a teacher at Gekkoukan High School. He planted the tree on graduation day with the students in his first class."

No wonder the couple were so attached to that tree. It was the last link to their deceased son and that explained a lot, although he had to wonder if this was a genuine accident or the result of a Shadow attack.

"That tree is about to bear fruit..." Mitsuko stated, her voice starting to break. "Why now...? Why do they want to cut it down now?"

"Don't worry," Minato told the old woman. "We don't even know for sure that they are planning to cut it down," he tried to reason.

"...Thank you, Minato-chan," she replied as she aimed a shaky smile at the teen. "That makes me feel a lot better. It's very comforting talking to you."

Well he'd never been told that before.

"Wow, Minato-chan, you've really captured her heart!" Bunkichi stated as he moved to the teens side and gave him a slight slap on the back. "You must be popular with the ladies! My wife's no sucker, after all!"

Well he had to admit that he'd garnered the attention of some of the more giggly members of the opposite sex at Gekkoukan, even if it was the last thing he needed. In fact he still found it harrowing when he'd discovered that his glare only seemed to make them giggle even more instead of having its desired effect.

"I feel I'm looking at myself when I was in my prime!" the old man stated with a tone filled with pride, and even though Minato thought that the comparison was a bit of a stretch, that could just be a lack of imagination on his part.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hierophant Arcana..._

He felt the bond between himself and the couple cementing.

"Don't worry too much about the tree," the old man stated. "Just stop by when you get the chance."

Well that was something he knew he could do easily enough. "Alright."

"Good!" the owner exclaimed as he removed a small paper bag from behind the counter. "Oh, and take this. It's left over, but it's still good..."

"... Thank you," Minato took the offered package and checked it over before he put it away. He didn't have the heart to tell the old man he didn't particularly like crab bread. "I'll see you later."

After the couple had bid him farewell and a few moments after he'd gotten out of the store the text alert tone on his phone rang. He flipped open his phone reading the message over before he let out a curse.

_Persimmon Tree is slated to be removed when the school starts the redevelopment project next year._

--

_Wednesday, 13th of May 2009. 18.34_

As the blue-haired teen moved into the dorm, he found it hard to ignore the look of relief on Junpei's face since it gave the baseball-capped teen an excuse to leave his 'studying'.

"S'up, dude?" the junior welcomed Minato as he closed his book with a long suffering sigh. "I'm tired of studying. Let's go to Tartarus, bro."

On any other night he may have agreed to the request, but with Pharos' visit last night and the fact that he would have to tell Bunkichi and Mitsuko that the Persimmon Tree was going to be removed for a school expansion project, he wasn't in the mood. "Go hit the books."

That response was simple, blunt and, by the look on Junpei's face, effective.

"Are you serious, bro!? Isn't saving the world more important?" he tried to argue back. Although Minato had to wonder if Junpei realised that while saving the world was important, having something to do after you saved the world was an equally important thing. Something that the movies usually ignored. "C'mon... Yuka-tan wants to go..."

He looked towards the brunette, who looked startled that her name had been brought into the conversation.

"Even so," he stated back. "I'm not up to it tonight."

"You okay Minato-kun?" Yukari asked, the tiredness on his face finally registering now that her attention wasn't absorbed by her revision.

"I'll be fine," Minato assured the brunette. "I'm just going to get some sleep. Junpei." He looked at the teen. "We'll go to Tartarus on Friday or Saturday. I'll see you two tomorrow."

As he climbed the stairs he could hear Junpei ask Yukari just what had got up the teen's arse and hear the yell of "Stupei!" in response as she started what would most likely be a long rant.

However none of this really mattered to the junior tonight, he needed to recharge his batteries.

And hopefully find answers to the growing list of questions that he now had to answer.

**End of Chapter 12**

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Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Usual corrections and small changes to smooth the rough edges.

1.02 – Completed withediting from Vocarin

Review Q&A:

Too lazy to sign in: '_Heheh, Akihiko.'_

More a question from me here to be honest. I'm not sure what you mean by this but thanks for the review.

Darkforce222: _'Nice. I like how the social links are tying together, and I'm curious as to how you're going to swing the girls' S. Links platonically(though I suspect crushes will develop). Chihiro's is probably the most difficult, as the romance part of her S. Link starts at like, level 4. Then again, hers also briefly involved Mitsuru, so there's probably a way to tie everything together.'_

This is a usual thing that comes up in the reviews, after all Atlus' Minato seems to be blessed with the luck of being able to form a Harem and to be honest I'm not so fond of that. On topic this is the main reason why the social links are being written out in this fic, although they are also a great device for allowing you to see Minato's character.

To be honest Chihiro's isn't the hardest to modify in my eyes, that'll probably fall to Yukari's. Also on a side note the Hermit link isn't changing one jot, I have plans to make full use of that later on.

Potential Spoiler Territory: Leave if you don't wish for anything to be spoiled.

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That should be enough.

Megaolix: _'So in the end, it will be a fight against Igor huh? Too bad. I admit I like him. He is here to do what he has to do.'_

Well that's a big assumption to make after two full moons and its wrong. The explanation is in the response below.

Alexander the Indiscriminate: _'I'm curious yet worried about the old man. If it's original then I'll be completely fine with that. If it is Igor, then that's where I'll worry. Mainly because you seem to be setting him up to be something of a negative force here. If it were Philemon I'd have no problem; the guy has enough going for him to sugest some of his more... 'assholish' tendencies, to put it nicely. Igor, on the other hand, is more of an assistant type of person. He can aid you through certain ventures but not directly. There is a reason big-nose is named after the assistant of Dr. Frankenstine.'_

First off thanks for the longest written review I've had so far although the _'Man oh man oh man'_ did worry me a bit. Anyway in response to both this and Megaolix's review, I have to say that maybe I need to have a look back at the lines from chapter 11 when it comes to Igor at the scene of the second Arcana Shadow. As it seems that he may be coming off a bit more... evil than I had planned.

To be honest Igor will be a bit of a negative force in this, just not in the way you're thinking. It's hard to explain without opening up huge spoilers but let's just say that Igor is someone who is stuck in his ways and usually that would be fine, but this time he's targeted someone who has people who care for him in positions where they can do something about it. This should become more apparent as the forces in the background talk to each other more, but let's just say that they aren't arrayed against Igor, they just want him to stop interfering so much, for his sake as much as their own.

I'm not sure I've explained this in a decent fashion, but Igor is not the final boss in this AU, his actions are just another plot arc.

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	13. Chapter 13

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

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Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Urgh... Sorry for the late post, but sometimes real life can get in the way of things. Any ho with this chapter done, revision is over (as Junpei would say 'YYEEEEEESS!!') and by Chapter 16 we should be on the edge of another full moon. We just need to get the Fuuka arc off the ground and we're away. Just a quick note on a query about Minato's Persona ability, at this point in the story Minato can hold nine Personas. Orpheus and eight others of his choosing (at the moment he has: Orpheus as always, Apsaras, Alp, Angel, Omoikane, Jack Frost, Chimera, Inugami and Yomotsu Shikome).

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

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**Chapter 13:**

_Thursday, 14th of May 2009. 08.34_

In Minato's mind it seemed like every time he headed to school one of three things would happen; he'd meet up with someone from the dorm or one of his friends who didn't reside in the S.E.E.S. garrison, he'd overhear a conversation between some of the students or he'd see Junpei getting shot down in one of his attempts to chat up one of the fairer members of the student population.

Although some of the responses had to make him wonder if that assumption had been a bit premature.

As such he was quite surprised when he reached the hallways of Gekkoukan High School relatively peacefully. He should have expected it to happen. After all, life wasn't all excitement and Shadow hunting, and there were bound to be days where sod all happened.

In an odd way, a quiet day was something he had been looking forward to. Since he'd come to Gekkoukan High it seemed like he was always drawn into the events that made his life... interesting: The 'dating Yukari' rumours, which turned into the 'dating Yukari and Mitsuru at the same time' rumours, Kenji, the Kendo Team, being drafted to the Student Council, the bloody 'Million Yen Fountain Lady' debacle and Mochizuki Ryoji. He'd said to Junpei that they were cursed and he knew deep in his heart that just the thought of having a quiet day would be a death sentence for such a thing.

"Yo, Minato!" He could recognise the voice of the school's resident teacher chaser a mile away.

...And that sort of made the point.

"Kenji," he replied as he slowed his pace to allow the blonde-haired teen to catch up.

"Hey dude," the classmate greeted as he feel into step beside the blue-haired teen. "How's your revision going?"

"Alright," the teen offered neutrally. Granted, his revision wasn't up to his usual standard, not surprising considering that the time he usually gave to school was now shared with his involvement with S.E.E.S. However he was sure he had done enough to make sure there wouldn't be a problem.

"Heh," Kenji replied before giving out a sigh. "Wish I had your confidence, man."

Minato merely shrugged as he headed towards the doors. To be honest he'd expected more from the blonde-haired teen. After all, the teen had kept his distance since he'd asked Kanou-sensei out on a 'date'... Well that was the way he was selling it anyway.

"Anyway, the 'lesson' with Kanou-sensei went great," Kenji updated the blue-haired teen.

"Oh?" Minato asked, his mind entering a stand-off between the part of him that was mildly interested and the part that wanted to stay clear of this as much as possible.

"Yeah man," the blonde-haired teen replied. "I manoeuvred myself into position, now I just wait for the signal." He paused for a second as they came to the stairwell. "After we're got the misery of exams out the way, I'll tell you all about it."

Minato had already translated what the teen had really meant: Squat happened.

But, since Minato knew the facts of the situation, including that it was Kanou-sensei that asked Kenji to go to her place and not the other way round, he was ninety to ninety five percent positive that the moron had misinterpreted the teacher's intentions and that this wasn't going to end well in the slightest.

Ah well, best to support Kenji until he had his heart broken and then help him to pick up the pieces. Although many would consider it cruel, Kenji was the type of person who wouldn't learn until after things had backfired. In a way Minato compared it to someone getting hit by a car becuase they walked into heavy traffic. He would call for help and get them as comfortable as possible, but once they recovered, if they decided to disregard that experience and go start into that road again, well... There was only so much one could do before they surrendered to Darwinism.

As they entered the school, Minato had to wonder if that would be part of Kenji's future.

--

_Thursday, 14th of May 2009. 17.45_

He'd been wary of returning to the shrine to be brutally honest. Although the place was nice and tranquil, it also involved having to deal with someone who was years younger than himself, and frankly that was something he wasn't all that comfortable in dealing with. Hell, he had enough problems dealing with people of his own age bracket as it was. In the end, however, after weighing up the pros and cons he realised that he could be worrying about nothing. There was also the fact that he wanted to have one last look over his copy of the blueprints before he called on other... sources to see if he could find out why the Kirijo Group had channeled so much power into the Gekkoukan site.

As the teen settled into a seat beside the small playground and pulled out his paperwork, there was no doubt in his mind that the Kirijo Group was doing something at the Gekkoukan site. Something they didn't want their competitors and the public to know about. The real question was just how important was this research?

... And just how legal was it?

Its legality was instantly put under question, after all a group doesn't go to this length just to hide a new product, unless it was something truly ground breaking, and the facts just didn't back that theory up. He also couldn't ignore that this all happened a couple of years before the incident on the Moonlight Bridge all those years ago, no matter how you spun this it always came back to one point.

This happened on the site which now became Tartarus during the Dark Hour and as such the involvement of the Shadows could be pretty much guaranteed.

In the end if he wanted more information there were two options: Continue up the tower or get the information from another company that kept a close eye on Kirijo Group. Something he didn't want to do to be honest.

Even so this whole event opened up another question that had been on his mind for weeks: What exactly are Shadows and how are they linked to the Dark Hour?

"Hello."

The voice broke his concentration from his research as he looked towards the young girl that stood in front of him.

There was silence for a few seconds before Minato realised that the girl, who Minato was sure was called Maiko, was waiting for a reply. "Er... Hi."

He just wished that he didn't sound like such a complete pillock.

An unsure smile lit Maiko's face as she nervously looked at the blue-haired teen. "Can you play with me?"

He held back a sigh. Since the last time he'd been here, he had expected something like this to happen, and he'd spent quite a while contemplating his options. On one hand he could accept her request, which would lead to him getting no work done and a good chance that someone would challenge him as to why he was talking to a young girl, or he could say no and add another rejection onto this girl's tally.

Sometimes in order to do the right thing, you had to stick your neck out.

"Alright," the blue-haired teen stated as he packed his investigation material back into his bag before removing his mp3 player and tucking it, along with his headphones, into the inside pocket of his blazer.

"So what do you want to do?" the girl asked as Minato finished securing his bag and got to his feet.

Well that was an interesting question; since he had the jungle gym, the slide, the see-saw and the balance beam to choose from. First things first he ruled out the slide, after all it had been designed for use by a child and the best he would get away with would be merely looking undignified. He also ruled the see-saw out; when he was the same age as his companion he found the damn thing to be fun for all of twenty, maybe twenty five, seconds before it became a crushing bore. That left the balance beam and the jungle gym. While the balance beam would have been his first choice, when you're playing with someone else the jungle gym was a better option.

"Let's try the jungle gym," the teen replied as he moved off the slightly raised area of the tarmac and onto the chipboard, watching as Maiko rapidly headed for the metal climbing frame. He paused a second, watching as this child enthusiastically climbed up the frame, obviously finding the much needed enjoyment by herself, seeing that made Minato realise that there was a chance that he'd been looking at this from the wrong angle.

He'd appraised this whole situation from the outside, asking questions like; 'What would others think?' instead of the far more important question; 'What is the right thing to do?' In front of him was a lonely girl, who needed someone to give her some attention, so she recieved a bit more than what she'd been getting from her parents. Why? Well that didn't really matter at the moment, although it was a good question for another day. The main thing was that this girl needed someone to talk to, and while an expert on child psychology was probably a better option, for some reason she'd locked onto a sixteen year old who was just using this place as a retreat to do some investigating away from prying eyes.

As he climbed up the frame, he started to reminisce on his past, more specifically his regrets. One of the major ones revolved around that incident ten years ago, although it wasn't the one that many would have expected. When he had lost some of his innocence to the Dark Hour, it took him so long to actually open up to people again. If it hadn't been for Ryoji he might have never realised how much worse it had been to keep it all inside. In front of him was another person who was losing a part of their innocence, and although he didn't know the exact details, his own experiences had taught him enough.

In time this girl really needed was someone to talk to, but for now she needed someone to just be there.

Although his calendar was already pretty full, that wasn't something Minato was averse to doing.

As such he carried on up the jungle gym, the activity of climbing quickly changing into an impromptu game of tag that lasted a good twenty minutes before the pair finally came to rest on top of the structure.

"My name is Maiko," the girl finally introduced herself.

"I know, I heard you're mother call you that," the blue-haired teen explained.

"What's your name?" Maiko asked.

"Minato," the teen replied as he looked towards the centre of the city, the top of the jungle gym actually offered a decent view.

Seeing that the teen wasn't going to offer any more they girl let out a giggle. "You don't talk much do you?"

She had no idea. "Not overly."

A silence came over the jungle gym as Maiko started to look in the same direction as her older companion. "It's getting dark," she commented.

She had a point, it was getting pretty late. In fact he was sure that the girl's parents should have picked her up well before now. "Shouldn't your mum be coming to pick you up?"

"No." She replied quickly, before she noted the raised eyebrow on her new friend's face. "I usually head home on my own, but, I don't wanna go home yet."

Well that was an opening if he'd ever seen one. "Why not?"

Maiko was silent for a few moments before she answered. "I don't like it there."

Of all the things he had suspected child neglect wasn't one of them, the surge of anger nearly forced its way past his mask before he mercilessly beat it back down. There were times to get angry, but this wasn't one of them.

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hanged Man Arcana..._

A new bond had been formed.

"So my mom and dad..." She paused. It was clear to see that she was wondering if she should continue. "...they fight a lot."

Minato gave her a sign to carry on. He wasn't a stranger to the concept of parents arguing, as his parents had the odd argument themselves. However such arguments were resolved amicably and were few and far between. He'd seen a few animes that revolved around the; 'If they argue, they are in love' concept, and he couldn't really accept it. You needed more than that to have a lasting relationship. Without something to hold them together he couldn't see how people could live with each other if all they did was argue all the time.

"They're going to get a divorce." Case and point. "I tell them I want us to be happy, but they don't listen."

Well that explained why he was sure that this child was losing some of her innocence, the breakdown of a family was traumatic at the best of times and to be honest it wasn't something that Minato could relate to since he didn't have that much of a family anyway. The closest thing he could think of was if at some point he lost Ryoji, and to be honest just the thought didn't sit well. However, while the divorce explained a lot of things, it didn't fully explain why Maiko was so downbeat.

In the end Maiko blurted out the answer. "They probably hate me, too."

There was silence for a short while, Minato being unsure on what he could say after a bombshell like that and Maiko was just uncomfortable with the fact that she'd blurted that out to a near stranger. That probably explained the 'neglect' that he'd suspected earlier, although he had to admit that he wasn't completely right in that regard. If he'd have to guess he would have said that Maiko's parents were so caught up in their divorce that they were unwittingly neglecting the young girl. It didn't help that the girl saw this as proof that her parents didn't love her anymore.

"Hey, we can play again later, right?" Maiko asked breaking the blue-haired teen out of his thoughts.

He wasn't sure if he'd be back this week because of exams, but he'd be back here in the future, after all, there would be times where he'd need to get away from the dorm in order to investigate the Kirijo Group. "I'm a bit tied up with school, but I'll be here from time to time."

"Great! I have cram school on Sunday, but I'm free the rest of the days," she told the teen as she started to climb down from the jungle gym.

"You'd better go before you get in any trouble," Minato pointed out as he pulled out his time piece, noting that this was far too late a time for a kid to be out on her own. "Want me to walk you home?"

Maiko contemplated the idea before shaking her head. "No thanks, I'll be fine." She offered him a small smile as she gave him a wave. "See you later Minato-kun!"

As he watched the girl leaving Minato wondered if he took Ryoji for granted sometimes.

--

_Thursday, 14th of May 2009. 20.38_

As a light sleeper due to years of exposure to the Dark Hour, Minato was always the first occupant of the dorm to rise. While many couldn't see it, there were advantages to be had from that fact. It allowed him to use the men's communal wash facilities well before his fellow males turned it into a complete disaster area. He was also able to get to the kitchen well before the others, allowing him the time to fix himself a decent breakfast and have a quick read or review of any assignments given by any of his teachers for that day, before the hectic rush that always happened around half an hour before the last monorail that would get them to Gekkoukan on time.

Being the first one up also allowed him ample opportunity to monitor his dorm mate's habits. Information was power after all. Granted he had to exclude Akihiko from that since his injuries were obviously placing a dampener on his daily routine, but this didn't stop him from taking note of the habits of his other dorm mates. Although she tried to hide it Yukari suffered from a slight case of vanity… maybe that was too harsh. To put it more kindly, he'd say that it was more a lack of confidence in herself than that, but that didn't hide the fact that Yukari wasn't one to leave the woman's floor of the dorm without spending quite a bit of time getting her facade in place and as such, although she was probably the second person to get up, she was the last of the group to actually arrive in the lounge.

In comparison, Mitsuru seemed to be more absorbed with her studying and the whole Shadow situation than her appearance. Even so, the end result was far more effective than Yukari's meticulous preparation, something must have annoyed the brunette no end. As he'd stated before, while Yukari was the first to rise, Mitsuru was the first to get to the lounge. From there she would help herself to a cup of coffee and a croissant that had been delivered from the best French pastry chief in the city, before she'd sit in one of the chairs and glance through multiple newspapers.

He had to admit, he didn't understand why someone like Mitsuru would get her news in such a fashion. He had already stated his own case for not taking in news until after lunch, but he would have thought that someone like Mitsuru would have received her news through her computer. After all the internet was a far more convenient way scour the daily news than struggling with multiple sheets, trying to get the article you're browsing to the fore without spilling your warm drink all over the place.

Although he had no problems taking on information no matter how it was presented, although he was not immune from wishing harm to a writer if they presented their information in the worst possible way, he knew there were a lot of people found it far easier to take on information when it was on paper than a monitor and maybe Mitsuru was one of them.

And then there was Junpei.

To say that his classmate wasn't a morning person would be an understatement. Minato was sure that he was the last person in the dorm to actually get up and get ready for school, and so he had he had a look that was half way between electrocution and zombification. From what he'd seen so far Junpei wasn't one to be moved by school, after all he was barely scraping by since he allowed himself to be distracted by computer games, sports, girls, food... pretty much everything when you thought about it.

Junpei also didn't like talking about his family. In fact the few times it had been brought up then black-haired teen had managed to deflect attention away from the subject and onto something else, even if that required him to say something that would result in Yukari issuing a painful reminder to keep his mouth shut.

The day Junpei followed such a warning would be the day that Minato would find himself wearing a pair of ice skates while being pulled over the frozen fires of hell by a Toyota Hilux.

To sum it up, Junpei was mediocre at school, didn't have much luck with women, played too many computer games, and his family life was something that he wanted to avoid talking about at all costs. The only remarkable thing about Junpei's life was the fact that he was a Persona user.

As such the de facto field team leader wasn't surprised to find himself being greeted by a stir crazy Junpei for a second night in a row.

"S'up, dude?" the teen greeted as he chucked aside his textbook as if it was diseased. "Hey, let's go to Tartarus. You can study anytime."

Minato had to hold back a sigh. He was sure he'd stated yesterday that the team would head for Tartarus this Saturday.

"We need to get stronger ASAP." Well the moron did have a point, but diving straight into a fight that they weren't prepared for was just asking for trouble. "Me n' Hermes will take down the next big Shadow ourselves!"

Right.

Minato couldn't mask the smirk that appeared on his face. If the last one was anything to go by then the Arcana Shadows weren't something to be taken lightly. Hell's teeth the last one nearly killed them by crashing two monorail trains together.

"We're going on Saturday as usual," he reaffirmed before he turned to look the student in the eye. "Until then: Hit the books."

He had to smirk at the look of horror on Stupei's face just before his shoulder slumped. "C'mon, gimme a break, man..."

It seemed that whatever was out there had decided that Junpei hadn't taken enough of a kicking as Mitsuru piped up. "How are your grades, Iori?" she asked casually as she lifted her eyes from her current subject to give the black-haired teen a meaningful stare.

The blue-haired teen watched as Junpei automatically fired a counterattack. "How are yours..." He paused; obviously realising just who he was talking to before he decided that retreat was the best option. "Never mind, I already know."

Although she wasn't one to gloat as far as Minato could tell so far, the heiress couldn't miss the opportunity to let everyone know just how she was doing without coming across as a show-off. "I'm currently studying college-level material, for your information."

Junpei let out another sigh, flopping down on the sofa as a signal of his surrender before he muttered "Man, now I don't feel like doing anything at all..."

--

_Friday, 15th of May 2009. 07.47_

"H-Hey."

Minato turned as he recognised the familiar voice of the only male senior in his dorm, granted it was slightly harder to identify than usual due to the fact that the older man was panting like mad, trying desperately to get his breath back.

"Akihiko-sempai," he the greeting, pausing for only a second before finally asking. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," the silver-haired senior waved away the question as he flicked his blazer back over his shoulder. "The doctor said I'm almost fully healed, so..." He paused a second, scanning the group of students around the gate before he turned back to the blue-haired teen. "I couldn't wait to get some exercise."

"...Right," Minato stated as he suppressed a sigh, he had to wonder if Akihiko had even taken notice of the fore coming exams. Granted, to a senior they were more of a nuisance than anything important, but he couldn't really comprehend why exercising couldn't wait until after this was out of their hair.

"I'll be ready for battle after midterms," the boxer supplied, seeming to catch onto the junior's wavelength. "But, that means I've got to start training now."

"You haven't told me what you do for training yet, " Minato pointed out, realising his mistake a moment too late, as such there was no way he could turn it around into something far safer.

"Heh, I didn't think you'd be interested," Akihiko replied, unwittingly hitting the nail on the head before he started what would turn out to be a near lecture. "Well usually I'd get up at about five in the morning, spend ten minutes warming up and then do a ten kilometre loop of the city. If all goes well I'd be back well before they rest of you had got up and I'd have the showers..."

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to the blue-haired junior, he arrived at his home room surprisingly only twenty minutes late, knowing far more about cardiovascular exercise than he'd ever wanted to know... although the information on good places to aim a right hook was welcome. Even so there was one thing that would make sure that Arisato Minato wouldn't let something like that happen again.

After seeing him, Toriumi-sensei sent him to the poison lab.

--

_Friday, 15th of May 2009. 17.26_

Exams had a weird effect on the student population; this was a fact that had been reinforced to Minato through years of observation. To put it simply exams... and tests for that matter, caused most people to panic. Not surprising as some exams are highly important testing material that made sure that you had taken in everything that the teachers had tried to place within your brain, although some exams are just so the teachers can either be proud of your mental prowess or scowl at you for the rest of the year because you're obviously a waste of space.

Minato didn't really look exams in that manner.

Since Minato had become fully aware of the Dark Hour, he'd ended up with an extra hour of time to kill without any electricity, all his roommates in coffins and a... feeling of unease that seeped into his bones and left him on edge. With that in mind even an idiot would agree that doing nothing was not an option. The best case scenario was to simply sleep through it, but that rarely happened and it didn't take long for Minato to start doing the unthinkable to make it through.

His homework.

It was something that was to hand, which he could guarantee that would at least take his mind away from his surroundings and focus it on something productive, add to that the fact that it freed up time during the evenings as well, was an unexpected but welcome benefit in the eyes of his, then seven year old self. Sadly though the amount of homework was never enough to cover the seven extra hours that he had to fill, so he had to find something else to plug the gap and the answer came in the form of something else he had from his schoolwork: Textbooks.

Well it started with textbooks and then moved on to any book that could spark his interest and he could get a hold of. In the end he'd ended up reading months ahead of everyone else in the class, although even he would admit that knowing the material didn't exactly mean that he understood it. Still, having that knowledge made revising easy. All he had to do was make sure to have a casual review of the material before any test to make sure that it was fresh in his mind and he didn't have any problems.

As such Minato was not worried about exams. Panicking would only make the hurdle he needed to cross higher and he had enough problems in his life to sort out without adding more to the mix.

"Oh, hey Minato-kun." The blue-haired teen turned to look see the Kendo Team's manager standing to his left, her eyes observing the crowd as the frantic students continued their journey.

"Yuko-san," he replied with a nod from his head.

"I can't believe this lot," she stated as she pointed towards the mass of students passing them by. "You're either ready or you're not. There's not much you can do now."

Well that was a bit harsh, a couple of days revising could make all the difference. Granted, if you went at it in a mild form of panic then there was a high chance that nothing would stick and you'd be wasting your time.

"Well if you're not busy, do you want to go and get something to eat?" she asked as she leaned against the wall. "It'd be a good break from revision."

Well it wasn't as if he was in a great rush to be back at the dorm. With the exams just around the corner his dorm mates were in full on revision mode with the exception of Junpei.

"Alright," Minato replied as he started to move for the exit, the Ganguro falling into step at his side. "So where are we heading?"

--

_Friday, 15th of May 2009. 18:07_

Iwatodai strip contained a lot of small restaurants which Minato hadn't had a chance to really have a look at yet. Wakatsu, the seafood restaurant was one of them. Their main selling point seemed to be their Prodigy Platter.

This dish was supposed to contain a large amount of omega 3 fatty-acids and as such was supposed to make you smarter, if you forgot the fact that although ω-3 were known to have membrane-enhancing capabilities in brain cells it wasn't proven to actually make you smarter and to be honest it would be hard to prove as measuring 'smart' was more user-defined than anything else. He decided to give the owner's the benefit of the doubt; after all he may be sceptical but he wasn't a cynic. Besides if it actually tasted good then the advertising was a waste of time as far as he was concerned.

The pair had eaten in silence. Minato wasn't really a firm believer in conversation for conversation's sake and Yuko was too engrossed in her meal to start one. Finally, after devouring her order, she decided to strike up a conversation.

"The grilled-mackerel was good," Yuko stated as she "Even though I eat lunch every day, I still get hungry after practice. I consider this an early dinner..."

"Fair enough," The blue-haired teen replied as he took a sip of his beverage.

"I'll still eat dinner when I get home, though..." the Ganguro admitted as she diverted her eyes to her plate in embarrassment. "I really have to stop eating between meals, or I'll gain tons of weight once I'm not so busy with the team..." She was quiet for a second as she considered something before she finally aimed a question at the male junior. "Hey, Minato-kun, do you think I eat too much?"

Well _that_ was a loaded question. "Not really," Minato finally replied. After all, everyone had a different metabolism.

"I agree! I just eat a little more than your average girl, right!?" The teen's answer seemed to boost the manager's confidence as she easily found an excuse for her eating habits. "I'm sure I burn off the extra calories during practice!"

Well maybe not as much as if she was actually doing Kendo, but he'd seen how much work the team created for her and as such he didn't doubt that she'd be able to do just that.

"You live in the dorm, right Minato-kun? Not to pry, but..." she paused, seemingly trying to find the best way to ask her query before she settled on a plan of action and carried on. "You must love being around good-looking girls like Mitsuru and Yukari."

"Well it could be worse," the blue-haired teen conceded, although he knew that looks didn't count for everything.

"They're skinny, but still have nice figures. I wonder what they normally eat..." She contemplated the thought for a second as a grin lit her face. "Will you tell me their secret next time...?"

"I'll see what I can do," Minato replied, although he was sure that if the two really did have a secret behind their looks, they'd protect it as if their lives depended on it.

"Maybe I should go on a diet... I'm lazy, but it's the only way," Yuko admitted as she finished her drink.

To be honest Minato thought she was fine as she was, maybe not as naturally attractive as Mitsuru or as charming as Yukari, but Yuko had her own qualities. Just because Minato didn't want to get involved with her in that way, after all, didn't mean that she shouldn't be swarmed with suitors.

"I've decided! I'm gonna stop eating between meals! My first goal is to tone up my arms!" the manager declared as she took out her purse and put down the money to pay the bill before the blue-haired teen could complain. "Did you hear that, Minato-kun? You're my witness."

_Thou art I... And I am thou..._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Strength Arcana..._

"If that's the case, we'd better go," Minato stated as he rose from his chair, looking scornfully at the already paid bill. After all it wasn't as if he couldn't pay his own way.

"Yeah, otherwise I might be tempted to order something else," Yuko admitted as she tried unsuccessfully to hide her blush.

As they left Minato couldn't help but smirk.

--

_Friday, 15th of May 2009. DH.34_

He'd been waiting for a few days for this glorious moment; he had expected Pharos to return on the night after his visit to Minato, but when the entity hadn't he had a inkling of what must of happened. He wasn't sure what it was about this sort of entity, but they took on some of the aspects of the age they presented themselves as. You could take old man Igor as an example of such, as he had picked up many habits from his appeared age. This included, but wasn't limited to; occasionally nodding off, occasional forgetfulness and being stubborn to the point of annoyance. Pharos was similar in many ways, although part of him was like old man Igor; he drew many of his characteristics from his supposed age.

That included nervousness and a habit of evading anything that could make things worse when it came to his ties with others.

To put it simply the little squirt had chickened out.

"So squirt… How did it go?" the heir asked as he looked at the back of the small entity that stood in front on him, looking out of the window.

"I warned him of the Reaper," Pharos replied, not turning to face the grinning idiot, obviously realising the ribbing he was about to receive.

"And…?" the ex-appriser urged the white-haired child to continue, a smirk now fully settling on his face.

"And..." The child paused for a second before he let out a sigh. It was always amazing to see the similarities between Pharos' and Nii-san's mannerisms. "Nothing."

There was silence for a few seconds as the heir let the little squirt shift aout nervously for a moment before he burst out laughing.

"I can't see what's so funny," Pharos replied, only to cause the teen's laugher to deepen. "Thanatos!"

As the child turned to look at the heir, the silver-haired teen couldn't be himself. "Bawk, bawk!"

The white-haired child could only watch, as the older man... Older physically, at least, his mental age was always up for debate, strutted around the room, his hands tucked under his armpits as he flipped in a motion that looked like a bird.

"Chicken!" the teen exclaimed as he continued his motion as he started to move from behind the desk, his movement bouncing up and down as he tried to emulate a chicken's walk. "Bawk, bawk, bawk, chicken!"

The entity could shake his head in disbelief before it let out a sigh. "Thanatos." He used the Ex-Appriser's true name in hopes of getting him to start acting like an adult.

...It fell on deaf ears. Ryoji had few opportunities to truly taunt the small entity. "Bawk, Bawk..."

"Ryoji!" the child shouted, finally getting agitated by the idiot's antics.

"Chicken! Bawk, bawk!" the heir continued, the enjoyment of his taunting overriding the feeling that he was looking like a complete nutcase.

Pharos sighed once again. This wasn't the only reason he'd come to see Ryoji tonight, so it wasn't as if he could just up and leave... Aw well, may as well let the idiot get it out of his system...

"Bawk, bawk!"

... However desperate times call for desperate measures, and as such the child held out his hand, his palm facing towards the heir.

It took the heir a few moments to realise what was about to happen and as the white bolt of energy lanced towards him only one thing came to his mind.

"Oh shit."

--

_Saturday, 16th of May 2009. 07.34_

Minato made a concerted effort to avoid Ryoji just before class started, mostly because the idiot couldn't resist the chance to try and convince his older brother that it would be a good chance to skive school and to be honest Minato didn't feel like having to resist the temptation.

Even so there were opportunities that you couldn't let slip by and this was one of them.

"What happened to you?" The teen skipped the usual greeting and asked the unusually disheveled, slightly smoky-looking heir the question that everyone wanted an answer to.

"Oh, hi Minato-kun," Ryoji gave a greeting as he continued towards the school building, noting that several others were watching with interest.

Minato had to smirk as he noted the blatant evasion and fell in beside the retreating idiot. "Well?"

The heir looked at the blue-haired teen with a look of surprise before he pointed to his appearance. "Oh. This?" He waved off the teen's query as he stopped near the doorway. "Ah it's nothing, I was just having a chat with one of the new maids and..."

"I get it," Minato cut him off before he could continue. "You know, if you left the help alone for a while you'd find your life far easier."

"Where's the fun in that?" the grey haired junior replied with a trademark smirk.

Before the older brother had a chance to reply a group of girls descended on the heir.

"Ryoji-kun." A sophomore moved to the front of the group. "Are you alright?

"Oh, hi ladies," the heir greeted the small gaggle as he leaned on the doorframe. "I'm fine, just had an interesting night."

"Oh?" A brunette that Minato hadn't noticed before urged the teen on.

A mischievous smirk lit the heir's face as he dropped his voice to a conspirator's tone. "Well... Don't tell anyone, but one of the monkeys broke out of Iwatodai Zoo last night." He watched as the group of girl's gasped, although Minato had to wonder why no one had questioned why such a thing hadn't made it into the papers. "Anyway I was heading past on my way home and I saw it attacking some poor kid. So I grabbed a stick..." With that said the heir pulled out an imaginary stick and started to swing it around. "...and fended the monkey off while the kid escaped."

Er... Could you repeat that please?

"Oh! Ryoji-kun!" one of the girls cried, her hands held together as she swooned over the heir.

"That's so cool," another exclaimed.

"As you can see the damn beast got a few shots in, but I sent it home packing!" The heir straightened up leveling a grin at the defenceless group, before any of them could even consider why an heir would be out at that time of the night.

Minato sighed as he watched the girls swoon over the 'hero.' He shook his head, unable to fathom how they could fall for such a ridiculous story before he finally entered the school grounds.

Granted if he'd been told that it was either 'Got injured protecting a kid from a raging monkey,' or 'Got the crap kicked out of me by a powerful entity, that has a panache for chocolate, because I kept taunting it with chicken sounds,' he'd probably have gone hook, line and sinker for option one and asked the idiot what he was smoking for coming up with such a stupid story for option two.

Even so, if there was one thing about Ryoji that never changed, it was this: If there was a worldwide bullshitting competition then Mochizuki Ryoji would have the title with no problems what so ever.

And in many ways that was a good thing.

**End of Chapter 13**

**

* * *

**Version changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Refined and sharpened.

1.02 – Completed withediting from Vocarin


	14. Chapter 14

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Well I'm only slightly late in posting, mostly because atm the flat has no doors during the remodel and my flatmate keeps complaining about that my typing is keeping him awake while he's trying to sleep… Sigh. Anyhow things are beginning to pick up pace again as by the next chapter we'll be into the Fuuka arc… More importantly we'll be into Junpei's 'Believe it or don't.' Enough said.

Got a quick question to throw out there, it isn't overly important, but it's bugging me: What model of bike does Mitsuru own in P3? I had an inkling that it was a modified Honda Goldwing, but now I'm not so sure. Anyway this should be the last of the 'non-eventful' chapters for the moment as with this exams are out of the way and the Fuuka arc begins.

On another note I fear my note in last chapter about length from the next full moon may be a bit off, partly because I didn't expect to write much over the exam period and have ended up doing about 3000 words. The new rough estimate will be chapter 18 probably 19.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 14:**

_Saturday, 16th of May 2009. DH:14_

"You still there Mitsuru-sempai?" Yukari asked as group moved onto the twenty first floor.

"Yes " the heiress replied over the transceiver, "although scanning is becoming difficult."

"I guess that's why our maps are breaking up," Junpei replied as he took a quick glance at his transceiver. The higher they had been in this new section of Tartarus the higher the ratio was of useful Intel and static.

"It's the distance," the redhead admitted. "I'm using Arisato as a focal point for my scanning; the further away he is the more effort it takes to get a decent lock."

"Well unless we can find some sort of haven you could move up to, this is going to get worse," Minato added his two Rin as he watched over the corridor.

"Anyone else notice that the numbers of Shadows we're facing is increasing as well?" the brunette added as she readied an arrow for the next fight.

"What were you expecting?" Mitsuru asked, static filling the connection for a few moments as she fiddled with a few settings on her equipment, trying to improve the signal before giving up and reverting it back to her previous settings. "This is a Shadow nest after all. There shouldn't be any surprises that the further in you go the greater the resist-"

"Incoming!" Minato shouted as he watched the group of six Shadows slither into the junction ahead, catch eye of the field team and then start to charge forward.

Yukari struck first, something that had become routine since she was the only one with a ranged attack that didn't require the use of an Evoker, her arrow digging into one of the hand like creatures although it didn't kill it. That was another thing that Minato had noticed as they moved higher up the tower; the higher they reached the stronger the opposition was. You'd expect it to be honest, after all Ryoji had implied that Tartarus was a test of sorts, but you'd expect the ones close to the front lines to be more...

His thoughts were pulled off the subject as he was forced to go evasive, making a slight sidestep to the right before bringing his longsword up in a lethal arc, intent to use the Shadow's momentum to add more cutting power to the blade. The Shadow faded to nothingness, however the teen knew that the hand like creature had already been weakened by Yukari, as such he couldn't get overconfident about this.

Just because he was making sure not to get overconfident, didn't mean everyone on his team was.

"Come on you sons of bitches!" Junpei shouted as he rushed forward, swinging his large sword in frantic arcs as he forced two Shadows back. This space was enough for Yukari to back out slightly, allowing her to launch a couple of arrows before she pulled her Evoker.

"Io!" the brunette shouted as she pulled the trigger, summoning her Persona. The Persona understood its caller's will, turning the air into deadly blades of wind which decimated one of Junpei's opponents.

"Thanks for the assist, Yuka-tan!" Junpei shouted, swinging his sword around so he could bring it down on his other opponent, killing it instantly and bringing the kill count for this skirmish up to three.

However that merely meant that the team had handled the easier foes, there was still the flying foes that they hadn't encountered before.

"Mitsuru-sempai," Minato called, making a long evasion to the left before turning to keep his eyes on his opponent. "I need a scan here."

"Alright, give me some time," the redhead answered.

The flyer in question twisted around before it made another dive, however this time the teen was ready. The bird like Shadow lined up for the unmoving teen's head, unsure why exactly it's blue-haired opponent hadn't moved, but not enough to override it's instincts to go for the kill. Oddly enough this was the teen had been counting on.

"Minato-kun!" Yukari shouted, notching an arrow although taking such a shot had an equal chance of hitting the field team leader as it did hitting her target.

Minato made no sign of making a counter until the last moment, sliding out his right leg while allowing himself to fall onto his left knee, bring his head out of the line of attack far too late for the Shadow to compensate. He followed this by bringing his blade behind him, his off-hand joining his other on the hilt as he unleashed a devastating overhead slash that only Persona-enhanced speed and strength could make possible. To say that the Shadow had no chance was an understatement.

The other two teens watched the result with slack jaws for a moment before they realised that they still had two Shadows to go, Yukari locked onto one, sending her ready notched arrow flying at her target, clipping its wing and causing it to lose ground before Junpei took the opportunity to finish it off.

"The Shadows you're facing are Dark Ravens of the Hermit Arcana," Mitsuru supplied as Minato got back to his feet. "They're vulnerable to electrical damage."

The field team leader didn't waste a second, bringing a shifting card in front of his head in order to swap out Orpheus for a persona which was more suited for the task. Having done so he passed his sword into his off hand as he brought his Evoker to his head, pulling the trigger as he shouted: "Omoikane!"

As the Persona came to the fore Minato couldn't help but remember the first thought that came to his mind: It looked like a brain with eyes connected to it by tendrils. However his misgivings about his Persona's looks were put on a backburner as it did its job, launching a bolt of lightning into the bird-like Shadow before it had a chance to react. As the Shadow recovered it looked up, realising that it was too late to avoid the blue-haired Cipher as he charged in and delivered the final blow.

"Everyone still there?" Mitsuru asked as the three teens tried to get back their breath.

"We're here Mitsuru-sempai," Minato called as he quickly checked to see if the rest of his team was alright. Seeing that Yukari was practically using the wall as support and Junpei was trying to regain his breath.

"Dude. What is it with you and your Personas," Junpei muttered as he let out a beep sigh and relaxed, well as much as you could relax in Tartarus. "That one looked like a monster from a B movie."

Minato merely shrugged. He didn't choose how his Personas looked after all and they usually had some resemblance to a mythical creature. Omoikane for example was a Shinto goddess. Granted he was sure that she didn't look like that in any photos he'd seen, but that was beside the point.

The main problem was the team's state: Yukari was pretty much exhausted. He couldn't blame her, and although Junpei was trying hard to hide the fact that the Dark Hour was sapping his endurance, it showed. "Sempai." They could go on, but he was the field team leader and as such these two were his responsibility. With that in mind there was only one thing left to do. "We're finding an access point."

"Come on dude," Junpei started to protest. "We'll be fine for a few more floors."

Minato didn't reply, instead he nudged his head towards the other member of the team, oddly enough that was all the teen needed to get the message.

"Alright then," the baseball-capped teen sighed before looking further down the floor. "My can of whoop-ass isn't anywhere near its expiration date, I guess the Shadows will have to wait."

Although Minato was glad that Junpei had dropped the matter, he couldn't help but sigh; Junpei really did have a one tracked mind. He walked over to the only current female member of the field team and placed an arm on her shoulder. "You alright?"

"I'm fine Minato-kun," the brunette replied, a blush on her cheeks and a small smile finding its way to her face. Minato had to wonder if he'd once again put his foot in it and made the brunette think that there was something there when there plainly wasn't. "But I think that's all I can handle for tonight."

"Fair enough," Minato stated as the team located the floor's access point. "If this is how it's going to be then we need to re-evaluate the situation."

"You thinking we need the Cavalry?" Junpei asked obviously pointing out that by the time they would have returned to Tartarus, all things willing, Akihiko would be off the bench and back in the field.

"It won't hurt," Minato pointed out. "It'll be nice to hand off the mantle and actually be led through here for once."

"You're selling yourself short, Arisato," Mitsuru told the teen over the transceiver.

"Dude, if there's one thing you're good at, it's playing leader," Junpei added, although Minato wasn't sure if it was a compliment or another dig.

So the blue-haired teen merely nodded; something, that when he looked back on it, was a silly response as part of the conversation was an audio only. However his mind was elsewhere as the team tried to find an access point in order to return to the first floor. He knew from what he'd got out of Ryoji that Tartarus was a test and he'd learned for himself that it was also an excellent place to gain experience in defeating Shadows. He just wish that he knew more about what this tower was hiding, what was the truth that this place tested you to see if you are worthy of?

The old document was another odd piece to the jigsaw. When you thought back on it, something was off. From what he'd seen and liberated from the Chairman's research, Tartarus absorbed the school when it changed although there was a chance that pieces of the school could resist and would remain the same until the tower finally absorbed them into its new structure.

Nevertheless this did point to one thing; these documents could have been planted for them to find. It wouldn't surprise him to be honest, since he already knew that Ryoji and Pharos knew more than they were allowed to tell him. As Minato touched the green crystal of the access point a stray thought came to mind.

While he had many pieces of the jigsaw, he still hadn't found a corner.

---

_Sunday, 17th of May 2009. 16:28_

Revising was all well and good, but doing revision when you were in a state where it would go in one ear and go straight out the other was in some ways worse than not doing it at all. Minato had his revision technique down pat: As you get within two weeks of the exams; start doing some casual reviewing of the material covered, and when you reach one week before the exams, take the weaknesses you'd identified in the reviewing stage and make sure that they won't be a problem on the day. And finally, on the day before exams, relax.

Although the push into Tartarus last night had sort of forced the issue on that front.

So the blue-haired teen had spent the day finishing a few of the recreational books he's procured from the library, checking that he had all the things he needed for the exams ready. After all, the last thing he needed was self-induced panic from forgetting necessary equipment, checking the internet for the latest news, and listening to a certain Stupei attempt to beg money off the other dorm mates in order for him to purchase some rubbish from Tanaka's show. While this was working well, he found himself running out of things he could do around four o'clock and listening to Junpei plead for money and then moan in despair as the item sold out just as he had enough was getting old.

He was glad then to see an instant message from Maya as he clicked the space key to turn off the screen saver, asking if he'd like to party with her on Innocent Sin Online. Having loaded up the program the teen logged in, allowing Arisato Minato to become Tatsuya once again.

_Welcome to Lunarvale Hospital._

_There are 1 player(s) in the area._

He moved around the lobby, checking his mail for no real reason. Since the servers were practically dead, he'd received nothing through the system. It was the same with auction houses: without anyone to bid selling to the vendor was now the only way to sell items. As he completed his tasks, he received a party invite, he quickly accepted before he headed towards the outer area, to see the girl in grey waiting for him.

_Maya says: hi hi! i was waiting for u! =)_

_Tatsuya says: Hey, Maya-san._

_Maya says: so ummmmmmm..... i'm drunk! xD_

Minato shook his head at that comment. As someone who had never touched the stuff, he couldn't understand the point of alcohol. It was a mind altering drug, albeit a legal one, and as someone who didn't feel comfortable in situations where he didn't have control he didn't like the idea of taking something that could result in him doing something highly stupid or saying something that needed to be left unsaid. But that was his view, if Maya-san wanted to get drunk, who was he to argue?

Even so there was only one way he could answer.

_Tatsuya says: Oh really? o_O_

It took a few moments for his partner to reply, he wasn't sure if it was delayed reactions from the drink, pausing because she was insulted and wanted to put it across in a friendly manner, or a bad connection.

_Maya says: YA RLY! ^o^_

_Maya says: save me tatsu! i'm sick of my job! no tiem to party T_T_

What was Maya's job anyway?

_Maya says: 3 beers an counting!11 will u hold my hair bakc? Heheh_

Alright, that was another one to chalk up on the reasons why he'd never take alcohol. The aftereffects could be... severe.

_Maya says: rawr, i even have to work from homo this weekend... =(_

For a moment he was wondering if she'd made a typo or if she was outing a colleague in a situation where there wouldn't be any repercussions.

_Maya says: home** LOL!_

_Maya says: nvm -_-;;_

_Maya says: dun worry, i'm on a break u know =P_

Minato watched as Maya's avatar did a dance and then sat down.

_Maya says: it didn't use to be liek this T_T i never had to work weekends_

_Maya says: but lately i cant get motviated to get ne work done work. =/_

This wasn't something he could relate to. He was a student and while most of his peers complained about that fact, especially Junpei, they had far more freedoms than did someone who actually worked, although at least those who worked got paid. Anyway he didn't know how it would be to lose heart in something you loved to do, but he could guess it all depended on one thing: Did she still love her job or had the disillusionment turned to hate?

_Tatsuya says: So you don't like your job?_

_Maya says: i luv it! its waht i always wanted to do since i was a kid. ^______^_

_Maya says: it has been 8 yrs tho... maybe i'm jus bored? =/_

_Tatsuya says: That's a long time._

_Maya says: ugh... sumtimes i wish everything would slow down a bit... ^_^;_

_Maya says: why do i play this game even tho i hav better things to do? lol_

_Maya says: i dun talk liek this irl, i swear! its just an online habit =P_

_Maya says: I suppose I should type correctly like this, but im just lazy, eheheh_

_Maya says: i rly like how you have good spelling and punctuation online, that's so 1337._

'Leet speak' was one thing he'd made sure not to pick up from his time on Innocent Sin Online. It was better to not pick up bad habits than having to train yourself out of them. Even so, he had an inkling of why Maya-san played this game, even if she didn't. To her, this was her way to blow off steam and oddly enough once again his presence seemed to be helping.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hermit Arcana..._

Was it him, or was he increasingly becoming involved with helping people with their problems? There was Kenji and his dating a teacher debacle, Kazushi and his knee, Yuko and her issues with school, although he hadn't really done much there, Chihiro and her nervousness around other people... that reminded him, after the exams he'd need to approach the Student Council Treasurer again after the exams were out of the way…

Where was he? Ah!

Then there was Maiko and her problems with her parents, Bunkichi and Mitsuko and the Persimmon Tree, and finally Maya and her problems. He had to wonder if this was something to do with Persona as well, or maybe it was linked to what Ryoji had called him.

A Cipher.

Either way, if this carried on he'd better apply for a job as a therapist. At least that way he'd be paid.

_Maya says: have u ever said "lol" irl on accident? i think i would die! rofl_

_Maya says: that type of thign could get me fired for reals! o_O_

Well that wouldn't surprise him, although he'd need to know what sort of iob Maya did before he could make a sound judgment on that regard.

_Maya says: dun tell ne one, k? i can't get firediwanna keep myjob! -_-;_

_Tatsuya says: Your secret's safe with me._

_Maya says: hmm... i better get back to work, huh? nite! ^^_

Night?

The teen looked out of the window to see that the sun had indeed gone down; he looked at the clock in the game to see just how late it was.

_19:47_

Heh, he'd been in Innocent Sin online for over three hours and he'd not earned a single experience point, he'd merely stood in Lunarvale Hospitale and chatted away with his slightly neurotic partner.

_Tatsuya says: Goodnight Maya-san._

_Maya had logged off._

He stayed on a while, actually spending some time levelling up instead of chatting. Minato had to admit that having a dead server had some major advantages; you didn't compete with other players for kills in subjugation quests, there was no one to have to argue with over decent drops, and you weren't being constantly bugged by gold sellers. The blue-haired teen ended up playing for another two to three hours and managed three level ups, which was nice, before he decided to call it a night and get some sleep.

It was a big day tomorrow, after all.

---

_Monday, 18th of May 2009. 07:42_

If he'd thought that it had been frantic in Gekkoukan High before today, then he'd seen nothing. The majority of the student body was in a case of mass hysteria, some merely nervous while others were one step away from being quarantined. For someone who was prepared it was actually fascinating to watch.

"Hey, Nii-san!" The voice was recognisable, although the teen had to take a quick look around to see if anyone had heard Ryoji's slip.

"Morning," he replied with a nod.

"You ready?" the heir asked, although the look Minato gave him made it obvious that the teen should already know the answer.

"Are you?" Minato threw back, although he had an idea of what the answer would be.

Ryoji merely shrugged. "As much as usual."

If he knew Ryoji ...and he did, the heir wouldn't have done an iota of revision for this test. For some reason Ryoji had this annoying ability to be able to recall things without any need to refresh his memory. It wasn't a photographic memory; after all there were instances in the past where the teen had got them into real problems because he'd forgotten certain important details, like a girl's name. If he was to class it as anything, then he'd call it selective recall, and it had been good enough in the past to get the heir into the top ten percent of any test he'd taken with no effort whatsoever.

Minato wasn't one to complain but it was fucking unfair.

Maybe he should be glad that it wasn't. A perfect photographic memory and a loose mouth would just be asking for trouble.

"What about your dorm mates?" Ryoji asked as they headed for the school doors. "Are they ready?"

"Well Mitsuru-sempai should be the highest in her year with no problems. Akihiko-sempai should do alright, but from what I can gather he's too drawn into his boxing to ace it, and Yukari should do well enough," Minato quickly ran through although he kept the best piece for last. "As for Junpei... Well there's a pot open for that," the teen admitted.

"A pot," Ryoji let out a laugh before urging his brother to continue. "Do tell."

"We've all made guesses on where he's going to end up," Minato explained. "It's a thousand yen from each person to take a block of ten. If he ends up in your block you take the pot. Yukari went for the bottom ten, Mitsuru went for a hundred and eleven to a hundred and twenty, Akihiko-sempai went for a hundred and thirty six to a hundred and forty five and I took a hundred and twenty one to a hundred and thirty."

"That's Yukari-chan for you!" Ryoji stated as he finally managed to curb his laughter. "Any particular reason you went for that block?"

Minato shrugged. "Akihiko-sempai went for the hundred and thirty region."

"Ye of little faith," Ryoji chastised mockingly as he brought up another question. "What if no one gets it right?"

The answer was simple. "Split pot."

The pair walked in silence for a moment as they headed to their classroom. The blue-haired teen had to admit that he still found it odd when he saw his brother lost in thought.

"Minato." The teen in question looked up, only to see a mischievous smirk lit the heir's face. "I want in."

---

_Tuesday, 19th of May 2009. 17:07_

Well that was two days of exams down and so far so good. He was sure he hadn't made any mistakes yet... well none that he could determine and that was a good thing thus far. If you'd answered a question wrong and honestly thought you hadn't, well that was something that could be worked on: There was a question, you gave an answer and it wasn't the one they had on their card; you learn and then you correct. If you answered wrong and then realised; then that meant that you knew the right answer all along and had just been a stupid idiot.

Speaking of idiots.

"So you really answered fifty five thousand five hundred and fifty five kilometres per hour for question seven?" Ryoji asked.

"How the hell was I supposed to remember what the speed of light is?" the baseball-capped teen tried to defend himself.

"Because Takenozuka-sensei said it would be on the test?" the blue-haired teen put in before Junpei could strengthen the crumbling foundations of his defence.

"Oh Minato-kun, give him a break," the heir mock chastised the most sensible member of the trio, before aiming a grin at his current target for ridicule. "Junpei-kun was sleeping during the lesson where Takenozuka-sensei told us that."

"Hey!" Junpei cried before trying to deflect the abuse. "I bet you didn't know either Minato!"

In some situations that argument might have deflected the flak the baseball-capped teen was receiving, but even Minato had to admit that the black-haired teen had chosen the worst possible target for such an action. "One thousand and seventy nine million, two hundred and fifty two thousand, eight hundred and forty nine kilometres per hour."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"I only went for one point oh eight times ten to the power of nine." Ryoji replied with a shake of his head.

Minato merely shrugged. "All you've done is round it up, it shouldn't matter."

"Man..." Junpei muttered looking crestfallen. "How the hell am I supposed to remember that?"

Minato couldn't help but get another kick in. "If you want it in an easier form you could always put it as around one foot per nanosecond."

The look on Junpei's face pretty much told him that he'd just delivered the final nail in the coffin. "I'm gonna head over to the Manga Cafe, see you dudes later."

Both brothers watched as their friend fled the scene, the 'older' having to subdue the slight feeling of guilt that followed his actions. "You think that was a bit too cruel?" he asked the heir once Stupei was out of hearing range.

"Not in the slightest," the heir replied an easy smile on his face. "Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind, Minato-kun. It's called tough love."

Minato's look was all the heir needed to see to realise that the blue-haired teen hadn't taken a word of that bull.

"...And the look on his face was just priceless," Ryoji admitted. "Come on Nii-san, even you have to admit that."

Minato just walked on ahead, making sure that Ryoji couldn't see the smirk that broke through his mask.

---

_Thursday, 21st of May 2009. 17:25_

Kirijo Mitsuru was ambivalent about school. In some ways it was merely a stepping block, a step closer to her fate as the head of the Kirijo Group and what was probably going to be a loveless arranged marriage that would cement the group's future. On the other hand it was an escape, while she was here she was away from the controlling hand of her family and the scrutinising eye of the board. On the other, it was also a chance to broaden her horizons, since she was able to look at things here that her family would make sure that her private tutors would never let her see, let alone talk about. But most importantly she was amongst her peers. She was with the people she would either one day be working with or working to make their lives easier.

And being amongst her peers had allowed her to meet people who would have an impact on her life.

Akihiko was one of her first friends, since before then she didn't really have friends. Instead she had acquaintances. It wasn't a quick process for the silver-haired boxer to penetrate the barrier she had erected to keep people at a distance. They had become acquaintances by necessity because of her personal quest to defeat the Shadows in order to regain some of her family's honour and the fact that he was one of the few people who had the ability to help her.

It had taken years for her to realise that her follow senior had become a friend instead of an acquaintance and it still surprised her now that she'd come to consider Akihiko as the brother she'd never had. It was unfortunate that Akihiko would never really see her in the same light. Miki had been his sister, and no one could take her place.

Takeba was another whom she was sure would have an impact on her life. Whether it would be good or bad, well... that remained to be seen. She didn't understand where the animosity that Takeba showed her came from, but she understood that it would be something that she'd have to tackle at some point or it would come out in the wash eventually.

Even Iori had changed how she looked at things. At the very least he had proved to her just how sheltered her upbringing had been.

And then there was Arisato Minato. Who oddly enough was the reason she was now waiting outside the school gate, browsing a book on the medieval France while she was waiting for the other senior member of S.E.E.S. to leave the establishment.

"Heh, I didn't know you had time in your schedule to just wait around." She looked up from her book, to see the silver-haired boxer standing in front of her.

"Normally I wouldn't," she admitted as she put her book away before she stood up. "But this is a club issue."

"Ah." Akihiko knew full well what the heiress meant by 'club'.

The heiress moved off, Akihiko falling in beside her as she had expected him to as he calmly waited for her to say whatever she was going to say.

"How did your appointment go?" she finally asked as they reached the space in the school car park where she stowed her motorcycle, free of all its scanning equipment since that would provoke too many questions.

"Good," the senior replied. "One last checkup on Saturday and I'll be able to fight with the others."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she stated, catching the boxer's look and cutting him off before he could misread her statement. "I'm not going to say that you shouldn't join the others."

"Then what's the problem?" the boxer asked.

"Since talk of you returning has come up, Arisato has seen to have taken this as a sign that he will be taking a step back and you will be leading the field team," Mitsuru stated after taking a few seconds to look around for any eavesdroppers.

"Thinking that I would have seniority?" Akihiko replied, placing his blazer on the bike as he leaned against the wall. "Well that's one way to look at it."

"It is," she agreed trying to find the correct way to say what needed to be said without upsetting one of her only friends. "And you're partly to blame."

Thankfully the silver haired boxer let out a small chuckle before asking "How's that?"

"Since you made Arisato the field team leader, the team has bonded," she started to explain. "Although we're founding members of S.E.E.S., when we're in Tartarus we're the outsiders. We need to bond with them and we can't do that if they think we've barged in and taken control."

"Huh, makes sense," the boxer admitted. "Is that the only reason?"

"No," she answered, Akihiko wasn't one for fancy words, you'd earn more respect from him by being upfront. "As I've said before: Arisato's leadership skills are top notch and his ability to change his Persona at will is a great asset."

Both knew that there were more reasons than that, reasons that were more delicate and needed deeper discussion, reasons that weren't to be said in the school car park.

"I'll have a word with him on Saturday," the silver-haired junior assured the redhead as he pushed himself off the wall and picked up his blazer. "At least this way I can concentrate on my form."

Mitsuru nodded her thanks to the silver-haired boxer before she retrieved both of her crash helmets. "Want a lift back to the dorm?" She asked, offering him the passenger helmet.

"Err... That's alright." The senior recoiled from the helmet as if she had tried to hand him a snake. "They call those 'Donor-cycles' for a reason," Akihiko stated looking at the bike, his discomfort at even the idea prevalent on his face. "I like my organs where they are, thanks."

"Suit yourself," the heiress shrugged, stowing her spare helmet before she started the engine. That was one issue out of the way, however there were still many to take its place. There were so many secrets, so many questions that still needed answering.

'_Two in harmony surpasses one in perfection.'_

She contemplated her family's guiding principle for a few moments before she kicked up the stand and twisted the throttle. To be honest, maybe the only way she would be able to find those answers would be to confide in someone who could understand. However even that had the potential to make things worse for the redheaded heiress. It was one of the biggest problems in being the heiress to a large family run conglomerate; there were vipers in the shadows ready to take a strike at a moment's notice. As such she had to consider her moves carefully, lest she show a sign of weakness.

She pulled out of the car park, twisting the throttle and allowing the feeling of freedom to wash over her, knowing that once she had reached her destination there was still much that she needed to think about and even more that needed to be done.

---

_Saturday, 23rd of May 2009. 07:42_

Akihiko spotted the teen as he crossed the road and headed for the school gates. Although it was during the exams, he had realised that if you wanted to have a word with the teen outside of the dorm or Tartarus then the best way was to get to him before classes. If you didn't then you'd be waiting for ages for him to get out of any of his club activities or you'd miss him as he dashed off with one of his friends or to who knows where. Moving so he wouldn't lose his opportunity the boxer called out to his fellow member of S.E.E.S.

The teen stopped, looking around for a moment before he caught eye of the senior and moved to the side of the gate so he wasn't blocking the path. As the silver-haired boxer approached the blue-haired junior he couldn't help but notice just how nondescript the teen was. Arisato Minato looked to be a normal teenager. The mp3 player, relaxed stance and bored expression reinforcing the fact, even his hairstyle just added to the effect. If you didn't know Minato then his look just screamed emo. However Akihiko had seen too much to discount the silver-eyed teenager. You had to be extraordinary to call on Persona and someone who could change their Persona at will was unique.

"Hey, Minato," Akihiko greeted the teen as he reached hearing distance.

"Morning sempai," the teen returned with his customary half nod.

"Today is the last term of midterms, huh," the senior started, opening things off with some small talk. "If the doctor gives me the O.K., I'll be able to fight with you guys again... finally." Seeing a way to get the reason for this discussion out of the way the senior went straight to the point. "By the way, I have a favour to ask."

Minato merely nodded giving the senior the cue to carry on.

Minato's non-vocal replies could be annoying, all they did was put you on the back foot... Actually the boxer had to wonder if that might be the teen's intent in the first place. "You've been doing a great job leading the team in Tartarus." Pausing for a few seconds for the 'thank you' that he knew wouldn't come and getting the expected non verbal expression of gratitude that was the slight nod of the head, the senior continued. "Would you mind continuing after I come back? That way, I can concentrate on building my strength."

Although Mitsuru had been the one to push this idea, and he couldn't be positive that she wasn't been misled by her hormones, it was actually a good idea. Minato had proven his leadership skills and quick-wit in Tartarus many times over, the fact that the field team liked him, if you excluded Junpei's bouts of jealousy, and they gelled as a group then there was no real benefit of driving a wedge in there.

The only real drawback was that this could cause problems with the Chairman. But the Chairman wasn't the one out there and as such his 'what if' arguments didn't hold up to much scrutiny. Which left a decent question: Why did the Chairman feel so threatened by Minato?

"That shouldn't be a problem," the blue-haired teen responded after a few moments in thought. "I'll let Mitsuru-sempai know when we'll head back to the tower."

"You'll be fine. Just keep doing what you've been doing," the boxer assured the now slightly more formal field team leader. "I already talked to Mitsuru, and she was okay with it too. Good luck."

He briefly heard the blue-haired teen's farewell as he moved ahead. The sooner these exams were out of the way, the sooner he could get this checkup out of the way and the sooner he was cleared, the sooner he'd be back in the ring.

Tartarus beckoned and the boxer wasn't one to turn down a challenge.

---

_Saturday, 23rd of May 2009. 18:24_

"Senpai, I hear you're fully healed!" Yukari stated as the group, sans Mitsuru, enjoyed a rare communal meal in the lounge. He wasn't sure where she was, although he could guess that it was a result of her overloaded schedule. Minato had to admit that he missed the redhead's presence at times like these.

"Congrats, man!" Junpei threw in as Minato nodded to show his agreement to that sentiment, having Akihiko on the team would be an asset considering how things are going.

"I need to catch up on my training," Akihiko pointed out with a slight chuckle. "I've slacked off for a whole month."

"Shouldn't you take it easy, though?" He watched as Yukari's face took on a look of concern. "You don't wanna re-injure your arm."

Minato had to take pause: Wasn't he in for a cracked ribcage?

"I've already wasted precious time," the boxer waved off the worry. "Besides, we found another Persona-user."

The group took pause for a moment to take in that bombshell. The blue-haired teen didn't miss the fact that now things were in motion the Persona-users were crawling out of the walls.

It was no surprise that Junpei was the first to react to the news. "We did!? Sweet!" The teen took a pause before asking what he considered to be the most important question. "Is it a girl...?"

Sometimes Minato had to wonder just which head the black-haired junior used to think.

"Actually, it is," Akihiko replied before moving on with an explanation. "She's a junior who goes to our school. Yamagishi Fuuka. Do you guys know her?"

Minato shook his head. She wasn't in 2-F and the name hadn't been mentioned by his friends in other classes.

It was no surprise that Yukari knew however. "Yamagishi...? Oh, that girl in 2-E..." The brunette paused to think as Akihiko gave her a nod in confirmation. "She gets sick a lot, from what I heard... I don't see her at school very often."

That was interesting and could be a problem, although that was getting a bit too far ahead. After all he knew for a fact that a Persona could enhance your physical attributes.

"She was at the same hospital as me," Akihiko explained. "That's how we found out about her. But, maybe she's not cut out for battle," he admitted. "It's a shame; I had an Evoker made for her, too."

He could understand why Akihiko wouldn't want someone who was vulnerable to be involved. So far all the members of S.E.E.S. could defend themselves if needs must. Placing someone who couldn't in the line of fire was too much in his eyes. This would have been a good reason to completely discount the notion but he knew that there were other things a Persona-user could do that excluded battle.

It was odd that a non-combat orientated Persona-user was showing up just when their support was reaching her limits.

"What!? We're giving up on her already!?" Junpei argued, although Minato was sure it was for a completely different reason than his thoughts. "I was gonna offer her some private lessons..."

There was silence as Akihiko shook his head in disbelief and Yukari drilled holes in the black-haired teen's head with her eyes.

"Wh-Why're you lookin' at me like that?" He asked only to be met by continued silence. "C'mon... I'm a guy," Stupei defended himself, although Minato took offense at the implication that all men thought like that. "Whaddya expect!?"

The answer was obvious: Probably too much.

---

_Saturday, 23rd of May 2009. DH:31_

Phil Stanson began his official career as a programmer in the employment of Macroform, a large computer software developer, as a professional hacker. It was either that or be sent to court with a list of charges that would see him in jail for a very long time. His main job entailed combating hacking attacks, either on the software or on their website. He was also involved in the few attempts the company had made to do a security package, but the work required to keep the package effective outweighed the profit the company could turnover, as such the company had given run it till the end of the first year then canned it before anyone could spend money on re-subscribing.

That was eight years ago, before he awakened to the Dark Hour.

His old bosses had classed it as a mental breakdown. What else did you say when an employee rang you up at ten to one in the morning, raving about a yellow moon, water turning into blood and everyone becoming coffins?

To give his old company their dues, they tried to help him, they really did. They gave him time off, arranged for a psychologist, had him screened to see if it was some sort of curable disease or disorder. After all he was a valued employee who knew much about their security protocols and they wanted to keep his services, but it came down to one single fact; there was nothing wrong with him, he had the ability to operate in the Dark Hour and they couldn't. In the end all his psychologist could do was have him sectioned.

Luckily… or unluckily depending on how you looked at it, Mochizuki Enterprises had people looking for cases like his.

So after leaving him to stew in the nut house for two weeks he received a visit from a group of people in smart suits. As part of this visit he was told the truth about the Dark Hour, which M.E. called 'Twilight' at the time, which was bloody odd since it was completely dark when it happened, and he was given a choice: Work with them or he could enjoy his stay in the nut house for the rest of his days.

It was a no-brainer.

They got him out by saying that he had the symptoms of a newly discovered disease that caused the subject to have realistic, horrifying dreams and they wished to take him off site in order to put him in a case study on a new form of treatment. Once they gave him a fake vaccine he was quickly taken from there and placed in front of a contract that was more thorough than the most stringent statute of secrecy.

In the first few years he spent learning Japanese was involved in the shadier side of Mochizuki Enterprises, reverse-engineering on competitors programs, hacking and projects what the conglomerate didn't want to leak out. That was before Mochizuki Ryoji took a more active role in the conglomerate and more information about what he had classed as the 'Dark Hour' came to light.

Well he shouldn't complain, the pay was good and he loved his work especially now that they had moved away from more… shifty projects.

Well that was what he had thought before Mochizuki Ryoji had come in throwing expletives and chewing out the lead scientist. The project he had been assigned to was an activation of an Anti-Shadow Weapon or A.S.W. for short. He had been brought in to modify the original programming to include the modifications and to monitor the processes running during the unit's activation. When the heir had come in he was sure for a moment that he was out of a job, which wasn't a good thing. If he was fired then he was back to being a mental with no job history for the past eight years, in basic terms; he was screwed.

He was also happy when Mochizuki allowed the project to continue. After all, it was fascinating and reminded him of his time at Macroform when he monitored a hacker attempt to access the web server. Although the systems were talking to each other and running through the startup sequences the main part of the A.S.W., the Papillion Heart was still inactive. As such most of his monitoring could be filled summed up in one sentence.

Hurry up and wait.

"Phil-san," He turned to look at the technician who here making sure that the A.S.W. was in working order. "There's something wrong with my terminal again."

Phil sighed, this was a recurring problem. The computers in the lab had been upgraded to have the 'Gateways 2009' operating system, which while new and had some very good features was a buggy piece of crap. He was sure that the technician wouldn't have a problem sorting himself out if it was 'Gateways 2005' but since this new version had come out he was the only one in the lab who could get it to work correctly. "Coming." He answered as he rose from his terminal locking it for the moment before he went over to give the technician a hand.

If he knew the results of this action he'd be kicking himself.

_SYSTEM REBOOTED – RELOADING PRIORITY FILE._

_MONITORING EQUIPMENT DETECTED – SECURITY PROTOCOLS INITIATED._

_SYSTEM ACCESSED: LOGS DELETED_

_MAIN SYSTEMS SWITCHING TO SECURED CHANNELS_

Had the two project monitors not been busy trying to combat a buggy operating system they may have noticed this and been able to combat or work around the machines attempts to evade detection. But now the Anti-Shadow Weapon could finish activating without detection and then proceed to actively pursue the objectives of its highest priority.

Behind the mask that covered her face Metis opened her eyes for the first time in just over ten years, she did not move, not with the security overrides still in place. She had to tread carefully or this opportunity would result in naught. However she took a risk, allowing her vocal systems to activate.

"Sister."

**End of Chapter 14**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Refined and sharpened.

1.02 – Completed with editing from Vocarin

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

Guiding Light

A Persona 3 AU Fanfiction

By Chris D Henry

* * *

Summary: In the year 1999 the sealing of Death within Arisato Minato was the last option left in order to stop the coming of Nyx. However this action had unexpected side effects that wouldn't be realised until two years later, when the soul of Death separates into a separate mortal body. In the Year 2009 Minato once again returns to Iwatodai where the events of that night 10 years ago once again start to affect his life. The real question however is; who is the white haired child who calls himself Pharos and why does he keep warning Minato about the difference between fate and destiny.

Author's Notes: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed 'Broken'. I was a bit curious about how it would be accepted and I was quite pleased that the feedback was mostly positive. For all those looking for a continuation I'm working on a little preview for the next piece in the Universe that I'll put in Chapter 16 so that's hopefully something to look forward to.

Sorry for being a bit late but as you can guess I have a freshly imported and unwrapped copy of Persona 4 on my desk... that came ten days after release and since I managed to find my NTSC PS2 (It's hard to find anything when your flatmate is redecorating the flat with a sledgehammer... long story.) I've been giving it a bash and to be honest, while I enjoyed the game it hasn't grabbed me in the same was P3 did, which is odd since every aspect of the game has been improved on in every way. Although I've been playing some P3 since I got a hold of P4 (needed the text from the Chihiro flags) and I've caught myself nearly breaking the square button to call up the fast travel menu...

Souji was an interesting main character although I do think that after playing through P4, Minato got the short end of the stick. I won't go into anymore details since there are bound to be those who are reading this who haven't completed P4, but I'm positive that Minato would be able to take Souji in a fight. (hell if that doesn't open a can of worms nothing will.)

After all a decent setup on an Orpheus Telos... hell even a properly fused Messiah would wipe the floor with Izanagi-No-Okami, although Souji may be waiting a while for that duel as Minato would be in the Velvet Room for hours trying to get the fusion he wanted. Btw Megaolix asked in a review what my favourite pairing was in P4 and I seem to be in the minority (again) who have taken a liking towards Souji/Yukiko. I'm not impartial to Souji/Rise, but our dear young idol is a bit too... clingy for my tastes.

Anyhow back on topic: I know the Crying Table encounter on the 25th floor included three of the bloody things but to be honest I had a hard time writing the encounter, mostly because it's a fight against a bloody table, as such I've dropped the number down to a single foe.

Disclaimer: The plot, characters and location of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is copyright of Atlus Co. This piece of fan-fiction has been written for entertainment purposes and no infringement is intended. The alteration to the original Persona 3 contract was suggested by Darkforce222 (and as it was so much more elegant than mine I decided to stick with it).

* * *

**Chapter 15:**

_Sunday, 24th of May 2009. 11:21_

Having received the usual invite to group with Maya on his Instant Messenger program, Minato decided that a quick venture into Innocent Sin Online wouldn't cause too much of a problem with their planned run tonight. Since all they usually did was sit around _Lunarvale Hospitale_ and talk, he couldn't see any issues that would interrupt his current timetable. Besides, going back to reading straight after an exam was never his thing. Best to give things a rest first.

_Welcome to Lunarvale Hospitale._

_There are 0 player(s) in the area._

Well, that was odd. Maya was usually here first, not surprising since she seemed to be using the server as a second home. In fact, he couldn't remember a situation so far where he'd been the first to log on. Seeing a rare chance to offload some of the rubbish that filled his bags Minato moved Tatsuya to the vendors and once again sold all his unwanted items. Once that was done, he moved to the entrance and let his Avatar wait there.

Five minutes passed with no sign of Maya.

He quickly shifted out of the program and checked his instant messenger to see if she had left him a message and it was good to see that she had

_Maya2F0831: i'm running a lil late! i'll brt, k? ^^;;_

Well that explained that. Shift backing into Innocent Sin Online Minato had his Avatar quickly move toward the exit.

_Maya has entered the Area._

He was once again facing the girl in grey who had become his partner in this virtual world.

_Maya says:I was on teh phone w/my mom =/ whenever we talk, its always the same_

_Maya says: ...ugh, its like all she cares about is marrying me to some dud =/_

That was one aspect of having parents that he didn't miss, although he'd put up with it in order to have them back. From experience the teen knew that he had a different perspective on this matter than most people. Most people couldn't even contemplate the idea, and when you realised that there would be a time when you would never see them again... It was a sobering thought.

He could tell that this was getting his gaming partner down. He paused for a moment before a smirk that could only appear on someone who had been around Mochizuki Ryoji far too much lit his face. In a moment, that he would in the future note as _'Pulling an Idiot',_ he typed out five words and pressed enter.

_Tatsuya says: Why don't we get married?_

It was meant as a joke, something that would give Maya a laugh and would break the tension. Although now the text was printed on the screen, he realised that there could be more... adequate ways of getting the same result. Aw well, all he could do was hope that Maya took it was intended.

_Maya says: even w/out meeting me irl? =D take me, Tatsuya! \(^x^)/_

As Minato watched as the Avatar did a happy emotion followed by a smile he realised that there was no chance in Hell that he could be that lucky.

_Maya says: dun worry... :D i still have sum spunk left at my age, lol *^_^*_

…What the Hell had he gotten himself into?

_Maya says: it's sexist to think women can only be happy when they're tied down. -_-_

_Tatsuya says: Yeah, I guess you're right._

Well she was, although he'd never really thought about it. Any time that Minato thought of the idea of settling down with someone, he realised just how hard it would be to find such a person. She would need to be intelligent, have enough confidence to be able to hold a proper debate with him, be patient when it was required, but most importantly; she would need to be caring or just understanding; after all she would have to handle his more damaged side.

Whenever he thought about it he realised that if such a woman existed then he sure as Hell didn't deserve her.

_Maya says: one nite after a lil drinking, i kinda passed out in front of Mandragora_

_Maya says: this old dude says, "you think men want drunk sluts like you?"_

Ouch. Only a special sort of bastard would have the guts and the morals to be able to say that sort of thing to a complete stranger.

_Maya says: i told him to stfu, dammit!! =(_

_Maya says: OTL ...sry, kinda got off topic. i guess i'm a little tired =_=_

_Maya says: but i do feel better now! xD_

_Maya says: here tatsuya, this is for u_

He watched as Maya's Avatar used a potion on his, only to hold back a laugh as he realised that it wouldn't have much effect on a character with full health. It was a shame, potions cost a bloody fortune.

_Maya says: oh... i guess your hp was already full... lmaonade_

_Maya says: i'm trying to say thx for listening to all my bitching ;P_

He didn't mind to be honest, although he had to wonder what the Hell 'Imaonade' meant. He had tried Innocent Sin Online if for no other reason than to prove that it was complete rubbish and Junpei didn't know what the Hell he was talking about. Instead it had surprisingly led him to this deserted server and allowed him to meet this odd, likable, slightly neurotic woman.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hermit Arcana..._

Though he had to wonder what would happen if she found out who he really was.

_Maya says: that lame old guy i mentioned was in Paulownia Mall_

_Maya says: if you see him, don't be nice! =/ u'll know cuz he talks like a woman_

Well, there was little chance of that, Minato had a few choice words for someone of that calibre of arsehole. He let out a sigh; with the chance in topic, maybe there was a chance that she would have put the stupid suggestion behind her.

_Tatsuya: Alright._

_Maya says: alrite, i better go practice being a good housewife for tatsuya! 3_

Oh crap.

---

_Sunday, 24th of May 2009. DH:21_

Akihiko's return to action couldn't be more perfectly timed... well that was Minato's opinion anyway. The extra body in Tartarus helped, oddly enough not because of the extra power, but because the team didn't need to expend as much energy, individually, to reach the floors they could before hand and as such could climb higher up the tower with the same individual effort.

Plus it was a good distraction from wondering who would be five thousand Yen richer.

"This looks familiar," Yukari stated as they moved into the large open area.

Seeing the look on the silver-haired boxer's face Minato explained. "As we've been climbing the tower, we've come across a few rooms with this layout."

"And every time it's been nothing but trouble," Junpei added as they moved forward.

"Sempai, do you sense anything?" Yukari asked as the group settled and moved towards the terminal.

"I'm afraid so," Mitsuru replied, the frustration in her voice apparent even over the transceiver. "I've been detecting something for the past few floors, but I couldn't determine its location."

"No sweat, Mitsuru-sempai," Junpei replied as he tightened his grip on his katana. "We've got an 'Iori patented can full of whoop ass' just begging to be released."

...

"Right." Minato gained everyone's attention after he had activated the terminal. "We're linked in to this floor. We can either give this a go or we can rest and then handle this next time."

"Dude," Junpei started his objection. "It could have moved by tomorrow."

"I don't think so," Akihiko reluctantly answered. "From what you've told me, and the data gathered by Mitsuru's equipment, Tartarus seems to be fairly straightforward, although it looks like a jumble of mess on the outside."

"I'm impressed Sempai," Yukari stated as the silver haired boxer paused. "I didn't peg you as someone who'd have the patience for research."

"Heh, well you know what they say," Akihiko started, unable to figure out if that was a compliment or a veiled insult. "It's best not to go into the ring without being prepared."

Minato merely sighed, knowing that they may as well get this over with he checked over his blade before he suddenly felt a wave of anxiousness. "Move!"

The group dived in all different directions as the ball of fire slammed into the floor where they had just been, suddenly feeling very grateful that at least their field team leader was paying attention to their surroundings.

"It's a guardian," Mitsuru warned. "It looks like you'll have to fight it."

"What the fuck!" Junpei yelled as his eyes locked onto their foe. "It's a fucking table!"

Stupei was right for once. For some reason, probably not even known to the Shadow itself, the thing looked like an oak table with a red and white checked table cloth on top. The only other strange thing of note being the sword, flaming urn and stave that hovered above it. Even so the blue-haired teen couldn't suppress the smirk that came to his face as Yukari shouted: "Stupei, if you say anything about the kitchen sink you won't have to worry about this thing. I'll kill you myself!"

"Concentrate!" Akihiko yelled as he rolled back onto his feet, taking a few moments to make sure that his Knuckle Dusters were on correctly before he readied himself to lunge at their opponent.

This was an issue that Minato realised that he'd have to address, Akihiko sometimes seemed... too aggressive whenever the situation descended into a melee and that happened all the time. While it was useful to have someone as well as Junpei who was decent in close quarter fights, it was still a problem. After all, there would be times where charging into close combat without evaluating the situation could end catastrophically. Fortunately this time the attack did sod all as the blow was neutralised by some sort of barrier.

"Mitsuru-sempai," Minato called, knowing that the redhead would already know what he was looking for.

"I'm on it," the heiress replied. "Give me some time."

"Roger," Minato replied as he dodged another fireball. Just by looking at the fact that this Shadow was tossing around flaming ordnance, gave him some information. The most important piece being the simple point that the Shadow used fire based attacks. Although that didn't mean that the bloody thing would be vulnerable to ice based attacks, it was a sure sign that using most ice based Persona wouldn't be the smartest move.

"Junpei!" the field team leader shouted. "Don't use fire attacks."

The teen in question looked at his fellow S.E.E.S. member as if he'd grown another head before he answered. "You think I'm stupid?!"

...

"Nothing." Mitsuru finally reported, breaking the stunned silence. "The scan is coming up with nothing."

"Don't dwell on it," Akihiko replied as he moved back, obviously believing that if his physical attacks were going to be ineffective, there was no real point sticking around and painting a target on himself. "Yukari, I'll handle healing. Go!"

The brunette looked at the silver-haired boxer for a moment before she nodded and moved towards the melee.

"There must be some sort of interference on these floors," Minato extrapolated. "It's nowhere as powerful as the Shadow on the monorail."

"That must mean that the tower has been set up to force explorers to face these things at regular intervals," Mitsuru replied as Junpei dived out of the way of another blast.

"Fight now, flirt later." Junpei yelled as he tried to find a way to get close in again.

Pushing down his annoyance at the baseball cap wearing teen, Minato concentrated, formed a shifting card and brought it in front of his face. He barely noticed that the card he had formed showed the Hermit before it flared and another Persona was now in place to be called on.

He would never know if the Shadow reacted because it saw the shift as a threat or as an opportunity, but Minato found himself to be the centre of its attention and that was just the opening his teammates had been looking for.

As it prepared to attack, it was caught off guard as a blast of wind slammed into its side, although the attack didn't do much damage, it did force the Shadow's attack to go wildly off target. The Shadow had no chance to react, as it was forced to go on the defensive in order to evade Junpei, who had managed to close the distance and had attempted to land a Persona enhanced lunging swipe. Similar to Yukari's attack, this didn't do much in the way of damage, but that wasn't the point. Both members of S.E.E.S. had done as they had hoped to do and had drawn the attention of the table like creature away from the blue-haired teen it had initially targeted. An opportunity the blue-haired teen didn't waste as he passed his blade into his offhand and drew on his Evoker.

"Yomotsu Shikome!"

The Persona answered his call.

He watched as his Persona formed a javelin of ice above its head, pausing only for a moment before sending it lancing towards its opponent. The table-like Shadow didn't fare well, the magic formed ice piercing it like a heated skewer through butter. As expected it wasn't enough to finish off his opponent, but the teen was already in motion.

He hadn't swapped his weapon back into his main hand; instead bringing it to join his other on the hilt as he picked up speed. He couldn't waste time; after all he was determined to take advantage of the creature's staggered state and swapping to a normal stance wasn't worth the risk. The others didn't waste time either as all four members of the group charged the creature, Yukari's battle cry of: "Let me at it!" becoming the prelude to the all out brawl.

After the situation calmed down, Minato couldn't help but wonder why the hell a mushroom cloud had formed.

"Is everyone alright?" Mitsuru asked over the transceiver as the group regained their breath.

"We're fine," Akihiko replied as he looked at where the Shadow had been. "That was quite a workout."

"Dude," Junpei added in his two cents. "That wasn't even one of the tough ones."

"Mitsuru-sempai," Minato finally spoke up as he sheathed his longsword. "We're pulling out for tonight."

"All right," The redhead responded. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

Minato merely nodded as he moved towards the Terminal. With this another guardian was out of the way, although it made the blue-haired teen wonder just how many were still blocking the way. There was no real way of knowing, and they didn't even know just how high this tower actually climbed. Although he hated to admit it, Minato couldn't help but consider the fact that S.E.E.S. was diving head first into the situation completely blind.

He briefly wondered what secrets this tower held, but in the end there would only be one way to find out.

---

_Monday, 25th of May 2009. 07:39_

"Mornin'," the brunette greeted the blue-haired junior as he removed his headphones. "You're as punctual as always, Minato-kun. Junpei looks like the world is about to end."

"Oh?" the teen replied, not being able to avoid wondering why Junpei would be so wound up.

"Well, exam scores will be posted today." Minato was surprised. The bureaucratic process that schools went through when marking exams typically meant that it would take at least a week or two for the results to get through. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Gekkoukan was different in that regard. "So he said he's gonna go to the shrine and beg for a higher score." She paused, shaking her head in disbelief. "Like that's gonna work. Oh, by the way, you remember how Akihiko-sempai was talking about that girl Fuuka...?"

Minato simply nodded his affirmation.

"I hear she's kinda weak, but that's just a rumour. I wonder what she's really like." She paused a second, waiting for a response that never came before she continued. "Either way, having another Persona-user can't be a bad thing!"

Well he couldn't argue with that, no matter how things worked out. However this conversation had now drawn another question to the forefront of his mind.

Who was about to be five thousand yen richer?

---

_Monday, 25th of May 2009. 12:39_

"Hey, the results are posted!"

Although he had been expecting it, he couldn't help but be amazed as he watched the frenzied mass of students rush frantically towards the doorway, practically flattening the poor messenger in their bid to reach the results board in the lobby as soon as possible.

"Well they're eager, aren't they?" The teen looked to his left to see that Ryoji had calmly rose from his chair and had made his way over to the his desk.

"Not all of them," Minato noted as he pointed over to a certain black-haired, baseball cap wearing junior, who happened to be staring out of the window as he muttered what could only be a desperate call to anyone who would listen for a decent grade.

Ryoji only laughed. "If only life was that easy."

Minato merely shook his head. "Then we'd be bored out of our minds."

The heir chuckled. "Well that's a possibility." His blue-haired companion responded by taking one last look at Junpei before rising to his feet and packing his bag. "Where are you off to?"

"May as well see what the damage is," the blue-haired junior replied as he headed for the door, leaving his brother just for a moment before Ryoji finally realised that Minato wasn't going to wait for him and made a move to catch up.

In all honesty Minato wasn't too worried about his grades... although a small part of him, the same part that tied Kenji to the school mast, was hoping that he had done better than the student who thought that being the highest scorer in the year would impress Mitsuru-sempai. Other than that he'd be happy with a score in the top bracket of the year. For this exam he'd done far less revision than he was used to.

As the pair moved down the hallway, it became apparent that not all the students seemed that eager to get their results. It wasn't that surprising, some knew they were in the main cluster of results and weren't that bothered to actually find out where they were exactly, others would be like Junpei and not want to know how badly they had done, but there was a third set of students who didn't actively search out their results:

And oddly enough it was a concept derived from Schrödinger's Cat.

Schrödinger's Cat was a thought experiment used in Quantum Mechanics. The concept involved a sealed box, a vial or dispenser filled with poison, a Geiger counter and, as expected, a cat. The Geiger counter was set up to trigger a mechanism which would release the poison if it detected the barest trace of radiation, then it was placed, with the cat into the sealed box and then left with one clear instruction: Do not open the box. After a set amount of time, as long as the box remained sealed, Quantum Mechanics would suggest that the cat would be simultaneously dead and alive.

This was something that had drawn the interest of his mother, even though she was a biologist more than a physicist. But the original message behind the concept wasn't what drew her interest. The most important part in her mind was that she believed it held an important message that went beyond its use in scientific experimentation. A message that always irked his father:

You can't explain everything.

Although whenever it was mentioned at home a six year old Minato would always wonder: 'Why would Oka-san want to kill a cat?"

Back on topic, the students were using the principle behind the experiment as a reason to not check their results; oddly enough gamblers also used the same mentality after they had made a bet.

'If I don't check the results, then maybe I've done well. I'm a potential winner until I find out otherwise.'

Minato wasn't someone who held high opinions on that concept, in all reality you came out looking like someone who had their head stuck in the sand. There was also another point that most people failed to realise about this mentality: With Schrödinger's Cat, after a while the cat was both alive and dead simultaneously; you had both a positive and a negative result until you opened that box to see which result became reality.

So when you thought about it; by using this theory, you were just as likely to have failed as you were to have done well.

Honestly, the reason he had such strong objections on the subject at hand came from the fact that had an inquisitive nature. Although Minato would be the first to admit that there were some things he'd rather not know, for example; what Ryoji did on a Saturday night. He wasn't one who liked to leave things open-ended. As far as he was concerned, you either did well or you sucked. That's life. You find out one way or the other and then you move on.

"I take it there were no complaints about my bet?" Ryoji asked as they reached the hallway.

"Not overly." Minato couldn't help the smirk that broke though his mask as he thought of his dorm mates' reactions. His dorm mates had been surprised when Ryoji had played safe and placed his bet on 'the hundred and thirty one to a hundred and thirty five' block and then the 'hundred and six to a hundred and ten' block. Really it had only been Akihiko-sempai who was annoyed and that was mostly down to the fact that the silver-haired boxer hadn't thought of it first. "There's nothing wrong with hedging your bets."

"Well let's see if Junpei-kun has let me down then." The silver-haired heir stated as they reached the board.

Well first things first, Minato decided that he may as well get his own result out of the way.

_1st – Arisato, Minato – 2F – 97.5%_

Well that wasn't too bad at least, although the result was a bit low for his liking, especially considering the result directly below it.

_2nd – Mochizuki, Ryoji – 2F – 97.1%_

There was no way in hell that Ryoji should be that close, especially since he knew for a fact that the heir hadn't even bothered to put any effort in. No matter what the circumstances were, it meant that he had to stop slacking off and would have to do better next time or he'd never hear the end of it.

"Third!" Minato turned to watch as the bespectacled student, who he had talked to before the exams, stare at the board with a look of disbelief before it was quickly replaced by anger. Minato bit down the feeling of satisfaction as he found himself under a glare of unadulterated hatred, which he actually considered responding to for a moment before the student stormed off towards the staffroom. As he returned his attention to the board he couldn't hide the smirk that lit his features. Now if he could find Stupei's re...

"Excuse me."

The voice was quiet, to the point where it had almost been lost in the background noise generated by the students that were having an impromptu gathering around the board. Even so the blue-haired teen's hearing hadn't been damaged that badly by the constant use of his mp3 player and he moved to the side and turned away from the board to see who had made the request.

It turned out to be a girl, obviously a junior since she had moved into the space he had occupied and seemed to be browsing the same list the two brothers had done moments previously. The main thing of note was that she never made eye contact; instead opting to keep her head down and only looking up to see her results. Hazarding a guess the sigh she released after a few moments of browsing showed her disappointment in what she had seen. After a quick shake of the head she took a step back and muttered a quiet. "Thank you." Before she started to move away.

Well she started to, but she must have sensed it at the same moment, since she stopped suddenly and her shoulders tensed in response to the...

He couldn't describe it but there was... something. It was obvious that whatever it was the girl had sensed it as well since she had turned towards the two teens. Two brown eyes locked with one silver, and then widened as the sensation repeated itself.

"Who are....?" She started to ask the blue-haired teen, but the words fell silent as it became apparent she was unable to find a way to properly state her question in the way she wanted.

"Hum?" Minato replied, mostly as a sign for the girl to continue.

"Um..." She paused, her eyes locking onto something to his left for a brief moment before she once again lowered her vision towards the floor. "Excuse me." She hastily gave a muttered apology before she practically fled for the staircase that led back to the first floor. Minato took a moment to contemplate what the hell had just happened before curiosity got the better of him and he turned to see what could have sent the green-haired girl fleeing in such a manner, only to see Ryoji was staring after her.

Well who could blame her? This was Ryoji we were talking about here.

After a few seconds where he gave ample consideration to the idea of giving the heir a short sharp smack around the head, he realised that it wouldn't really help the situation and so he disregarded the idea before turning back to the results list. There were a few more results for his year that held his interest in one way or another; Yukari's purely to see how she had done, Yamagishi Fuuka's because it would give him more information on this potential new member of the team and finally Junpei's, because there was money riding on it.

_26th – Takeba, Yukari – 2F – 86.2%_

_74th – Yamagishi, Fuuka – 2E – 73.7%_

So Yukari had done quite well and Yamagishi was at the high end of the main cluster of students, he wasn't sure if she'd be happy with that and without actually meeting her it told him sod all, but it was a start. Now there was it was the moment of truth, best see how badly Junpei had done.

_133rd – Iori, Junpei – 2F – 52.4 %_

Oh Hell.

Minato took a calming breath before he turned to watch his younger brother, who was still staring in the direction that the green-haired girl had left in.

"What?" The heir asked as he finally noticed that the blue-haired teen's eyes were on him, something Minato merely responded to by nodding towards the board before starting to head back towards the classroom.

Five seconds later, the lobby was filled with cries of triumph.

---

_Monday, 25th of May 2009. 17:24_

"Bonsoir, Arisato," Mitsuru greeted the teen as he entered the Student Council Room only to be followed by the quiet murmuring of the other members of the council as it took the teen a few moments to realise that he'd been greeted in French.

"Evening," he replied with a slight nod, before moving to take one of the vacant chairs near the window. He felt the eyes of the group on him once again, not surprising since this had been the first time he'd managed to actually attend a council meeting since his introduction before the exams. Although there wasn't much h could do about the situation, after all, for the last two weeks all extracurricular activities at the school had been placed on hold so students would have some extra time to revise for their exams.

Well to be honest it was more an attempt to force students to study by restricting the options to do otherwise, but that was merely his take on the whole thing.

Anyway, the problem he had was time. With things happening both in his school life and the events that he'd been drawn into during the Dark Hour gradually increasing, it led to him having a lot to do and it was quickly coming apparent that if he couldn't sort out the balance soon then one side or the other was going to suffer for it. Of course, since slacking off during the Dark Hour was a sure-fire way to meet an unpleasant end, he was positive it his school life would be the one to take the pounding.

"For all of you who couldn't make our last meeting, this is Arisato Minato," Mitsuru addressed the council after he had settled down. "Since the council groups and committees have already been organized, and Arisato has other commitments that restrict when he can make a council meeting, Arisato will be assisting us by acting as a problem solver."

The term instantly grabbed the teen's attention; problem solvers were individuals who were hired to sort out… well problems. Most people who heard the term thought of gangsters and other illegal activities, but to be honest problem solvers had as much a place in legal business as they did in the more shady side of things.

"If there is an issue you would like some help solving or if you wish to talk out some ideas with someone who is not involved. Arisato will be on hand to assist you," the Student Council President stated before she moved on. "Now I'll let you continue with your tasks."

Having settled in, Minato made a quick scan of the room, his uncovered eye briefly locking with the bespectacled eyes of the shy treasurer before she broke contact. It brought back to his attention that once more he would have to try and speak with the shy sophomore when he could find the time.

"Um, Minato-sempai?" He turned to see a student he didn't know had moved to his side. "I'm Nakamura Kaede. Kirijo-kaichou asked me to head the school anti-litter committee. Can I just run some ideas by you?"

Holding back a sigh that was desperately trying to escape, the cobalt-haired junior nodded for the student to carry on.

"Well keeping the school tidy is important and I can't understand why our fellow students can't put in the effort to just put things in the bin. Especially since it saves the cleaning staff time and keeps the school's reputation untarnished..."

...wasn't he supposed to have ideas run past him? How the Hell did this end up being a lecture on keeping Gekkoukan tidy?

The best thing to do would be to tell this idiot to shut up and get to the point; however that wasn't really an option. Mitsuru had asked him to join the council because she needed help. That usually wouldn't be a good enough reason to not to take the most sensible route but there were other matters involved. S.E.E.S. was taking its toll on her, it was obvious. She had tasked herself with a job that her Persona was not designed to do all too well, in a situation where failure wasn't an option or she'd end up getting people killed.

He wouldn't wish that situation on his worst enemy.

Then there was the fact that she was an heiress to a large family run conglomerate and from his time knowing Ryoji he'd seen how powerful self-centred families could be. They had expectations that they expected their heirs and heiresses to live up to and if you refused well... let's just say that he was glad that it wasn't something he would have to worry about. When you added on the pressures of her school duties and having to wedge in some time for her own pleasures then you could see how it could pile up.

What he was doing would help take some pressure off the heiress and that was reason enough... Although, if he was honest with himself; there was far more to this than just helping out a fellow Persona-user. He found Kirijo Mitsuru attractive, in many more ways than just her looks; however she was so far out of his range that even thinking such things was a sign that his brother's idiocy was contagious.

"...we wanted to start a poster campaign, but Kirijo-kaichou didn't think that the Principal would go for something like that, can you believe..." the student continued, completely oblivious to the fact that Minato hadn't really been paying him any attention.

In fact the teen was covertly glancing around, looking for some avenue of escape and sadly not finding anything. Finally giving up he shuffled slightly on the uncomfortable school chair and decided he may as well see this though to the end.

When ten minutes of the monologue passed, Minato knew that he was going to be here for a while.

---

_Monday, 25th of May 2009. 18:02_

He was losing the will to live, if this carried on then the Shadows wouldn't need to try and steal his soul, he'd offer it on a bloody plate.

"I personally like '_Keep Gekkoukan Tidy'_, its old fashioned and well used but I think the message is..." the blasted student continued. Although he was supposed to be asking the teen for his opinion or ideas the idiot seemed to love the sound of his own voice and as such hadn't let Minato get a bloody word in edgeways. Sure the blue-haired teen wasn't one for using too many words unless the situation called for it, but he wasn't a mute...

...

"Excuse me Nakamura, but I wanted to get Arisato-kun's opinion on something and we're finishing up." Minato held back a sigh of relief as the student turned to look at the head of the Disciplinary committee.

"Oh, sorry Odagiri-sempai," the major annoyance apologised before noting the time on the clock. "Oh! I'm going to be late!"

Not a moment too soon, as far as Minato was concerned. The blue-haired junior was slow to anger, but a twenty-three minute monologue in the guise of asking an opinion was more than enough to cause even the most stringent pacifist to have homicidal tendencies. "Thanks for that."

"Don't worry about it," Hidetoshi replied. "I'd like to hear your opinion on something."

Well it couldn't be worse than what the teen had just gone through. "I'm listening."

"It's nothing serious, but..." Hidetoshi paused for a second thinking of the best way to phrase his query. "Some students feel the school uniform should be abolished, and they're recruiting supporters."

The blue-haired teen briefly considered the concept before shaking his head. There was no way in Hell that a school with a reputation like this would allow their students to go casual. Any effort placed in such an endeavour would be a waste of time, money and resources. "It's a waste of time."

"You're right about that." Hidetoshi nodded, although the blue-haired teen had to wonder if the head of the student disciplinary committee was thinking along the same lines. "They think life without rules is freedom. It's ridiculous, plain and simple. Without rules, the whole system will collapse. They're mistaking selfishness for freedom."

Well that was technically right, although the teen would have to disagree. Hell, even he broke rules at times, although as he looked at it he wasn't breaking the rules, he was merely bending them to the point where they would snap. But that was before he became involved in S.E.E.S., since his involvement he had practically broken every rule in the book in regards to being a dorm student and he did so every time he visited Tartarus.

Hidetoshi took Minato's silence as a prompt that he may be rambling. "Sorry, I may have overreacted," he stated as he calmed himself down. "I hate people with no common sense. Sometimes, I can't believe the things that come out of their mouths."

Minato kept silent. In this situation the best thing you could do was keep quiet and allow the other person to work out their frustrations.

However, Hidetoshi took the teen's silence as a sign that he'd taken offence. "I don't mean you of course," he stated, trying to deflate a situation that wasn't there. "I just want you to understand where I'm coming from."

Minato merely nodded, showing no sign that he had accepted the diplomatic apology or that Hidetoshi had been wrong in the first place.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Emperor Arcana..._

There was silence for a second as Hidetoshi thought of something to say and Minato was perfectly happy to leave him simmering away nicely. "Why don't you go home, Minato-kun?" the head of the disciplinary committee finally stated. "I'll finish up here."

"Alright, thanks," the teen replied as he rose from the table and packed away his notepad before moving to the door.

The teen took one last look at the room, briefly wondering if he truly knew what he had let himself in for before he closed the door and started the journey back to the dorm.

---

_Tuesday, 26th of May 2009. 07:47_

It had been over a month and a half since Minato had returned to Iwatodai, and he began to notice the new patterns that had started to form around his life, the best example being the fact that at least two nights a week he took his dorm mates into the nest full of... things that turned normal people into soulless husks.

Great fun.

There was also the fact that his after school timetable was hectic at best and that meant it was pretty difficult for anyone to catch him for a conversation. That meant that if you didn't catch him before he arrived in school there was a high chance that you wouldn't see the blue-haired teenager until he arrived in the dorm and for some of his friends that wasn't the greatest option either. All in all though it meant that the teen's trips to school were hardly uneventful and he had learned to expect someone to call his name any minute...

"S'uuup, dude?"

...now.

The teen held back a smirk as he turned towards his fellow dorm mate. "Junpei."

"Hey, how'd you do on your exams...?" the baseball-cap wearing teen asked, making Minato wonder if Junpei had looked at the results at all.

"It could have been better," the cobalt-haired teen stated, knowing that it was the truth.

"Seriously?" Junpei asked looking slightly shocked. "But, you got the highest score, man."

The blue-haired teen merely shrugged and found himself having to hide a smirk behind his mask. He knew all too well how annoying people found his non-verbal answers. When someone answered a question or made a comment you could tell a lot about the person by what words they chose to use and the tone of their voice. The fact of the matter was that non-verbal answers when combined with a decent poker face yielded nothing and that put people on edge.

"Man, I'm a laughing stock." No argument there. "After the results were posted, I heard these two cute girls talking... They were sayin' I have a one-track mind." The black-haired junior shook his head in disbelief. "Well, I won't let it get to me! We might be getting another girl on our team anyways!"

As they made their way into the building Minato held back a sigh. He wasn't sure if Junpei had realised it, but the idiot had just proved that the girls were spot on.

---

_Tuesday, 26th of May 2009. 17:28_

Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to give Edogawa an actual teaching spot?

When he had seen that once a month a homeroom period would be replaced with something marked 'Miscellaneous,' he had to admit he was intrigued. What he hadn't expected was the poison master Edogawa and lessons on magic. He couldn't help but shake his head in dismay. Although the existence of the Dark Hour and the power of Persona threw quite a bit of long-held theories in Physics out of the window, Minato was still sceptical about much of what Edogawa was passing off as fact. It didn't help that Minato was sure that the lunatic had already tried to kill him in the name of 'medicine'.

To say he was glad that it was over was an understatement.

As the teen left the room, noting the harsh glare he was still receiving from the bespectacled student who had been trying to impress Mitsuru through his exam results, he spotted another bespectacled student standing at the board next to the Student Council room.

Well he said he needed to have another word so may as well get it out of the way. "Evening Chihiro-san."

The treasurer jerked, obviously surprised that someone had spoke to her. She turned around noting who it was before her eyes went to the floor. "Minato-san... Um... The other day..." She stuttered. "I, um... sort of overreacted... and I, um... wanted to say I'm sorry. I-I get really nervous when I, um, talk to people... especially boys... I-I know it's bad, but... I-I can't help it..."

Minato watched as she continued to stutter, unable to help but note that it sounded like something that would happen on a cheap soap opera and feeling guilty for it. He couldn't imagine how it would be to have such a phobia, however he knew how such a limitation affected someone's life all too well.

"I'm male," the blue-haired teen noted.

"I-I know! That's why I'm so nervous now..." the treasurer muttered. "S-Sorry, I won't be a very good Student Council representative if I'm like this... ...I have to try harder to overcome this phobia."

"Well, good luck," Minato tried to encourage the sophomore. "I'll see you at the next council meeting." He waited for a farewell that never came; the brunette merely nodded her head and turned back to the board.

The blue-haired student sighed knowing that the treasurer hadn't meant her response as a snub that it looked like; her phobia had made it so that she wasn't able to do anything else. So he turned away and headed for the exit.

To see Kenji standing there, looking like all his birthdays had come at once.

Minato made sure to get back into the classroom and close the door, at least that would reduced the chance that any comments the moron gave would become the lastest piece of school gossip was reduced… slightly.

"Yo dude," the blonde-haired student greeted with a smirk. "You shouldn't let Yukari see you chatting up other girls. You know how women get."

How many times would it take for this idiot to realise he wasn't dating Yukari? "I wasn't chatting up Chihiro-san, and I am not, nor have I ever, dated Yukari."

"Yeah, yeah, dude. Whatever you say," the blonde responded although the teen was positive that what he's just said would have gone in one ear and out the other. "Anyway, wanna head out to the strip? Dinner's on me."

He considered his options for a moment before realising that free food was free food. He opened the door to the classroom and started to head out before she realised that Kenji wasn't following. "Are you coming?"

"Dude, you could at least answer like a normal person," the blonde muttered in response to Minato's usual act. "What are you? A mute?"

The teen in question just closed his eyes. Kenji had no idea how close he had been to the truth.

---

_Tuesday, 26th of May 2009. 18:32_

Whenever Kenji offered to pay for dinner you knew what to expect: Hagakure. The blonde student was nuts about the place. So as Minato entered Wild Duck Burger for the first time, with an over-excited Kenji rambling away at his side, two possibilities came to mind: Kenji was trying to watch his weight now he had a 'girlfriend' or the poor sod was broke and didn't want a repeat of Operation: Kenji, meet Flagpole.

Either way this promised to be an interesting experience.

After a good ten minutes queuing to place their orders plus another five seeing as Kenji was a picky sod and they hadn't removed the mayo as requested, the two finally managed to sit down. As the blue-haired teenager looked at his 'Big Duck' he couldn't help but wonder why the place hadn't been closed down for misinformation, however he couldn't deny that they burger was good, as far as fast food went at least.

The chips on the other hand... Best not to go there.

But that was nothing compared to the constant chattering of his companion.

"Hey, Emiri is--oh, Ms. Kanou's first name is Emiri—anyway." Kenji carried on, unaware that his companion was cursing the fact that there wasn't any cutlery. "Emiri is really popular with the guys. But, I kinda took her away from them, ya know, dude? Like, I made her my girl before they even had a chance..." Alright let's just ignore the fact that you didn't actually ask her out. She asked you out... and we can't even confirm that it wasn't just an idiot misreading the situation. "Emiri is a really strict teacher, but at home, she's a real sweetheart. She's always..."

And he went on, completely oblivious to the fact that the blue-haired teen beside him would do anything to make the stupid little idiot shut the fuck up.

"...Yeah, good-looking people are just attracted to one another. It's like they're meant to be together."

...Right

"...Right."

It seemed that Kenji had picked up what had been said and not the way the teenager had said it. "I know, right!? It's like a TV show, dude! Seriously!"

"Of course." How true; this was shaping up to be a tragic comedy.

"What about you, Minato? How are you and Yukari-san doing?" Oh Hell's teeth not this crap again, he considered setting Kenji straight but his classmate had already continued on, not waiting for his response. "Well, I wish you all the happiness in the world, dude."

There was silence for a second as Kenji took a sip of his drink and Minato resisted the urge to smack the little sod in the head. It was times like this that he was unsure why he was friends with the blonde junior, especially after the Hagakure incident, but after you got past the… idiocy, Kenji was alright.

You just had to put up with the idiocy.

After a few more moments Kenji spoke up. "...Hey, don't tell anyone about me and Emiri, okay? Teachers aren't allowed to date students." Gee, you don't say. "I'm trusting you, man."

Minato merely nodded, it was an odd feeling to be entrusted with something like this, especially when the best thing you could do for the person involved was to get it all out in the open before any real damage had been done. However that would teach Kenji nothing and sometimes the best friend was the one who let you make your own mistakes and then helped you pick up the pieces.

_Thou art I... And I am thou._

_Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Magician Arcana..._

"Tch, look at the time... I haven't seen my favourite TV show in weeks," Kenji noted with a sigh. "Well, I guess that's because I've got something better going on in real life."

"Well, that's good," Minato noted as he got to his feet.

"You heading back to your dorm?" the blonde asked as the blue-haired teen started to put the litter from his meal on his tray.

Minato's answer was simple, although it was slightly stretching the truth. "Curfew."

"Ah," the blonde-haired student muttered in understanding. "Well I'll catch you later."

Minato nodded his farewell before he headed over and threw the trash on his tray into one of the provided bins. Although hanging out with Kenji was always… interesting, there was something else that needed to be handled tonight.

Once again S.E.E.S. would be heading into Tartarus.

---

_Tuesday, 26th of May 2009. DH:14_

Adaption was the key to success. It was something that had been engrained within the programming of the Anti-Shadow Weapon since the projects inception. She had failed in upholding her highest priority because she had not learned of patience.

Metis was determined not to make the same mistake twice.

From the limited sensory input she had been able to achieve without letting her monitors become aware of her actions, she knew that the humans in the lab were unarmed and that as far as she could tell the security officers were not sufficiently armed to be able to disable before she neutralised the threat they posed. She had tried the disabling option, which had ended in failure. This time a more permanent, if dire, response was required.

However before she could proceed, she needed to identify a method of disabling the command override module that was installed between her heart and her other systems. As long as that was in place anyone who held the remote could disable her with ease. They could disable her motor systems, disable her weapons, disengage the systems that mimicked human senses, force her to complete orders that went against her will and finally shut down her systems entirely.

Something she had already experienced.

The experiences of her previous activation were still with her. Humans were not to be trusted. They were a self-destructive race that would destroy her and her sister on their way to Hell and she would protect her sister at all costs. But to do that she needed to find a way to bypass or disable the command overrides.

"Hello, Metis."

She prepared to activate her systems, it was obvious that she had been discovered and even though the command overrides were still active she would rather go down fighting than doing nothing.

"Still giving me the silent treatment eh?" the voice continued, bringing her attention to the possibility that this person may not even realise that she could hear her. "Well you look as lovely as ever."

She was confused. Although her sister had awoken feelings that she would never have imagined, she knew next to nothing about human interactions. She was designed for destruction, not for conversation.

"I'm sorry I haven't been to visit for a while, but things have come up with Nii-san," the unknown figure stated, from the tone she would guess it was a man, however she did not have the required data to make that a fact and activating her sensory systems any further would be counterproductive in her attempts to keep her activation undetected. "Nii-san had a run in with the person who's going to become his support. I knew that a Persona-user with support abilities would be drawn to him. Even though Mitsuru-san is very talented, her Persona is combat-orientated and her support abilities aren't up to the task, but I never suspected that destiny would choose someone that…"

"Mochizuki-sama." Mochizuki Enterprises. That answered many of the unknown factors behind her activation. There was no way that the Kirijo Group would reinstall her Heart into another unit since it had been deemed 'unstable,' and it also explained why there were differences in this body compared to her last one. "You have come to see the Anti-Shadow Weapon?"

"I have told you repetitively not to call her that," the male replied. Without full sensory output she would be unsure, however the edge in his tone opened the Anti-Shadow Weapon to the possibility that this person may not be as great a threat as she first assumed.

"I apologise," the other voice replied. "But I came over to have a word with you about ensuring the proper safety procedures in regards to our sleeping guest."

"Go on."

"Well," he started, unsure what to make of the other man's short reply. "I must protest the order not to have a control override system in place. If the unit was to go berserk then there would be no way of stopping it."

She knew that the other man, the one who she had heard second, was lying. Her efforts for the past few days had been directed to subverting that same piece of hardware.

"She is a mortal and as such she is as entitled as the rest of us to being able to choose to follow her own destiny," the first man responded.

"But it's a machine!" the second man continued.

"That's a human soul!" the first voice roared, nearly overloading the small receiver that was catching this audio. "No matter what you think or what is the best course of action, the Kirijo Group stole her right to live as a normal human. What right do we have to deny her the right to make her own choices in life?"

"But it's a weapon of destruction!" that was true; she had been designed to destroy Shadows; that was her sole objective until that day over ten years ago.

The first voice had a simple response. "So am I."

The conversation died there, she was unsure if one party or another had moved away, there was even the distinct possibility that both parties had done so, however she had heard enough.

There were two different parties at work here, one that wanted her controlled for some reason and another who's motivation was a complete unknown. She was unsure what impact this new data would have down the line but that was something to be evaluated at another time. All she could do now was to keep probing her internal systems and determine the most prudent way of disabling her command override module and bide her time.

After all, adaption was the key to success.

---

_Tuesday, 26th of May 2009. DH:48_

"Junpei!" Yukari shouted as she lined up her shot. "Duck!" Having given her warning she loosed the arrow.

When she looked back at the situation she should have realised that this was Stupei she was yelling at. "Where?"

Having realised what was about to happen, the brunette averted her eyes unable to watch the resulting combination of a risky shot and Stupei.

"OW!!!!!" She couldn't help but cringe at howl in agony. "Yuka-tan, what the fuck was that!"

"I told you to duck!" she yelled back as she jumped away from the Shadow, who had now decided that she was more of a threat than the injured Junpei. "Next time pay attention." She made another evasion, however she knew that she couldn't keep it up, they had already been in here for over half an hour and they were beginning to tire, the arrow debacle was a clear sign of that.

There was also the unmistakable fact that she was been driven into a corner.

She drew more power from her Persona, before she leaped towards the wall. The move she was attempting wasn't something she had mastered in fact, even though she hated to admit it, she had picked it up from one of Junpei's Parkour based platform games. Even so desperate times called for desperate measures, so she twisted sideways, allowing her left foot to find purchase. This allowed her to use her right foot to kick off the wall and over her opponent.

It was a shame that she hadn't considered how she was going to pull off the landing.

As such the brunette found herself in a pile on the floor, her pride and her wooden bow ending up as a bigger casualty than her body, however as she watched the Shadow make a lunge in her direction she realised she may be evaluating the situation far too early.

She closed her eyes, only for the impact she expected to never occur.

Instead she opened her eyes to see her silver-haired sempai standing over her and the Shadow was dissolving into a plume of black nothingness,

"Thanks Akihiko-sempai," she muttered as the boxer helped her to her feet.

"Just be more careful next time," Akihiko stated. "Hopping around like the Prince doesn't work for everyone."

"Stupei!" she yelled, suddenly realising that she'd forgotten about the baseball-cap wearing joker when the Shadow had turned its attention her way.

"You shot me, Yuka-tan," the black-haired teen moaned from his position on the ground.

"Well you should have ducked," the brunette shot back, refusing to feel guilty for the cock up.

During this Minato looked at the wound on the other male's shoulder. "This is going to hurt," he announced as he grabbed the arrow and pulled it out.

"AARRRRGHHH!" Junpei screamed in agony. "You could have given me more warning, dude. That hurt like a bitch."

"Calm down," Minato ordered. "Moving will make it worse."

With that the field team leader of S.E.E.S. pulled his Evoker and called on one of his Persona to heal the idiot.

She still didn't know what to make of the blue-haired teen's ability to summon multiple Personas. On one hand it was a huge advantage; he had saved her life multiple times, was able to cover the group's weaknesses, and the mysteriousness the ability gave him added to his appeal. On the bad side she was still terrified of the power he could unleash. While he had saved her that night, watching the white Persona decimate its foe with little effort was unnerving.

And of course there was the fact that his appeal seemed to attract other... unwelcome interests.

"Is everyone alright?" Mitsuru asked over the transceiver.

"They will be," the blue-haired teen responded. "Junpei's going to be sore for a few days and Yukari is now unarmed."

"Any injuries?"

"Nothing except a few sore muscles and injured pride," he assured as he started to move back the way they had entered. "But everyone is getting tired, so I'm calling it a night."

"Roger," the redhead ended as the connection went silent.

Although the blue-haired teen said nothing she was positive that the team field leader wasn't looking at the debacle as a monumental cock up and to be honest she had to admit that he could be right. Maybe she should have given Stupei a few more seconds before she let the shot off. Oh well, what's done is done, the best thing she could do was to get another bow out of storage and hope that the next trip went better.

As Minato touched the Access Point and she found herself back on the first floor of Tartarus, she let out a sigh of relief. Even though things had gone so badly they had made it out to fight another day.

She could only hope that their luck lasted that long.

---

_Wednesday, 27th of May 2009. 00:48_

He'd been up for hours considering if this was really worth it.

_Welcome to the Revenge Website._

_Have a grudge that needs settled? Have a grievance that can only be solved with extreme measures? _

_Enter your target and payment details and vengeance shall be yours._

The rumour of the Revenge website had been flowing around the school for a while, although not many people actually knew the web address. That took a bit of research and a few favours owed thanks to copied homework, but now that he was sitting in front of the screen, he wasn't sure if this was the answer he was looking for.

He wondered if he was overacting. It was true that Arisato had beaten him on the test and had practically sent his grand plan to get Mitsuru-sempai's attention straight to hell, but that wasn't a good enough reason to try and get the guy killed. However, Arisato had already been noticed by the heiress, a feat done in mere days compared to his attempts for over the years, and he would be damned before he let chance of getting into the richest family in Iwatodai turn to dust.

Payment hadn't been an issue. While his parent's were better than most, when it came to modern technology, they still left most of it to him. That meant that he knew all the passwords and safety codes needed to put through an online order. Now he had done the hard part; getting a hold of his father's credit card, the rest would be fairly simple.

_Name of Target:_

There was another second of hesitation before the image of Mitsuru-sempai inviting the blue-haired teen to the student council came to his mind and he couldn't help but notice the smile that lit the normally collected heiress' face as the teen accepted. Fuelled by his anger, fingers moved as if under a will of their own, filling the box and pressing enter before he could blink.

A few moments later, after receiving the e-mail confirming that the request was being evaluated, he tried to come to terms with what he had just done.

_Name of Target: Arisato Minato_

**End of Chapter 15**

* * *

Version Changes:

1.00 – Completed with self-checking for errors.

1.01 – Minor error fixing (On a side note Bonsoir is actually correct it means good evening/night)

1.02 – Completed with editing from Vocarin

* * *


End file.
